For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart
by ThisAccountIsNowInactive354085
Summary: Love is never easy, especially when you're young and foolish and every new day feels like it's the end of the world, and the one you love is smiling for someone else. Pairings inside.
1. Prologue: Make A Wish

**Well, this just started out because I'm apparently hopeless at trying to write my own stories at the moment… Either way, I absolutely adore Shimako and Noriko. I've found it a little difficult to figure out who'd be the 'seme' and 'uke'- I think it'd probably would've been one of those weird relationships where they reverse…but ultimately, even though Noriko's very outgoing, I think Shimako would be in charge of the overall RELATIONSHIP, if you get what I mean. Anyway, this may or may not be a chapter fic, and if it is, hopefully I'll manage to add in one of my new favorite couples (I'm growing tired of Sachiko/Yumi, and I find Touko's personality to be horribly cute). So if you like it, PLEASE review! It's what keeps me writing! (Plus I don't feel like doing much else since my nose hurts =P Nose piercings hurt a lot more than you'd think xP But it was worth it to see my dad's reaction, even if it is just a stud xD)**

**Summary: The Roses reflect upon their relationships with their respective soeurs.**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Prologue: Make a Wish**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

**Touko-chan**

Jealousy isn't a pretty emotion.

She knows this, she _does_.

Only, she's related to Sachiko, and really, it's not as if it should come as a surprise to anyone that she tends to feel this emotion more heavily than others, even if she's a bit better at hiding it than her indirect cousin.

She thinks this huffily, wishing Noriko would stop sending her those stupid, knowing looks, like she knows everything that Touko has worked so hard to keep hidden.

She scoffs- Noriko is the last person who should be giving her those looks if she thinks everyone and their late uncle can't see the way she looks at the young Rosa Gigantea.

But now she's getting off the subject. Where was she?

Ah, yes.

Jealousy. Ugly.

Right.

It's funny now, she thinks, that Yumi has admitted to having felt it directed at her because of the time she spent with her precious Sachiko-_onee-samaaaaaa_. She remembers the swell of pride in her chest at having been the only person to be able to make the notoriously kind Yumi-sama act in such a way, and her lips pull tight.

When had it stopped being so fun to see Yumi's cheeks puff out when she'd cling to Sachiko for a second too long? And when had she stopped feeling so elated with her acting skills when Yumi would send those pathetic attempts at death glares her way?

Maybe, she thinks, it was the day that Yumi first asked her to be her petite soeur, and she'd rejected her so harshly. She didn't want the pity, and she still doesn't, which is why she sits and silently fumes while Yumi dotes over Sachiko like an overeager puppy.

Sachiko knows, she thinks. It's not as if she makes it obvious, but there's something in the looks she sometimes sends in Touko's direction, something in the way her (beautiful, always beautiful, because she's _Sachiko_, after all) blue eyes flash when Touko comes just a bit too close to blowing everything, something in the way that she stands just a little taller every time Touko walks into the room.

Like she has the right to keep Yumi from Touko.

_Hypocrite._

It infuriates her that Sachiko knows, and yet there's nothing she can do about it, so she shrugs it off and pretends she doesn't notice. She hates being so transparent, and sometimes she wishes she'd never met the angel of Lillian.

And why did Yumi have to choose her to save? There are plenty of other charity cases- plenty of other girls who have been abandoned or neglected or abused. She thinks maybe it's because she tried so hard to keep Yumi away.

And now that she's given up, she's decided that maybe her approach needs to be a little more direct, and spends her time as close to her onee-sama as possible. Not that it does much good, with Yumi all wrapped around Sachiko's little finger like she is.

_Stupid Sachiko._

And that's where the jealousy comes in, isn't it?

If Touko had a nickel for every time Yumi smiles _that _smile and every time Sachiko doesn't deserve it directed her way… Well, she's rich anyway, but it's the metaphor that counts.

Not that Touko thinks _she _deserves Yumi any more than her cousin does, but that's how jealousy works, isn't it?

Petty, skewed, and irrational at its best.

And besides, she's sick of seeing Yumi cry, and if Sachiko makes it happen one more time (because it's always Sachiko, except for that one time, and Touko doesn't count that because Yumi ran to Sachiko in the end anyway, as she always does), she thinks she might slap her, beloved cousin or otherwise. Maria-sama knows she's had it coming for a while now.

But now Yumi's standing up to leave, and the sudden lack of warmth beside Touko makes her snap out of her fantasy world and face the reality that is SachikoandYumi, because everybody's long since agreed that even if Sachiko never realizes what she has and makes a bloody move already, Yumi will stay by her side forever. Even now, she's attached herself to Sachiko's arm, while Sachiko just looks down at her with that stupid, disapproving half-smile that makes Touko want to scream. Because if Sachiko doesn't want her, the least she could do is give her to someone who does. But Sachiko does want her, Touko knows; it's only that she's had Yumi wrapped around her ring finger and she doesn't know what it's like to have to fight for love.

Touko catches Noriko sending her a sympathetic look and she glares and glares until the young white rose rolls her eyes and turns back to her own onee-sama, her expression instantly changing into one of lovesick devotion.

It's sick, this cycle of picking out a petite soeur only for the sake of having them inevitably fall for their onee-sama only to suffer for years before finding out that they never had a chance to begin with. Touko puts on her coat with little grace and follows after SachikoandYumi, not bothering to walk gently- in fact, she walks as loudly as possible, her clunky boots slapping loudly against the wooden floor with every step she takes. She takes little comfort in knowing how much her unladylike actions bother Rosa Chinesis, knowing that for every second Sachiko spends glaring at her, that's one less second that she spends making Yumi fall even further.

Jealousy isn't a pretty emotion.

She knows this, she _does_.

So then, for every touch that transpires between SachikoandYumi, Touko must grow just a little bit uglier.

But it doesn't bother her, not really.

Because after all, who could compare to Sachiko and her stupid, beautiful smile and her stupid, beautiful eyes and her stupid, beautiful body that managed to entrance the most beautiful girl in the world?

**Noriko-chan**

She's growing tired of watching Touko glare at the Rosa Chinesis.

It's not as if she doesn't stand a chance- if Touko only stopped glaring and _thought _for a fraction of a second, she could see exactly how to take advantage of Sachiko's weaknesses.

No, it's not like Touko's situation is hopeless.

And sometimes she hates Touko for feeling that it is, when her own onee-sama is the most beautiful girl in the world, a girl who couldn't possibly support such an improper love.

It's funny, she thinks, that a girl like her, rambunctious and blunt and ever-cheerful, could be so hopeless.

She had hope at first, of course- there was something in the way that Shimako sometimes let her calm, caring façade slip, like the time she admitted to wanting to find Noriko's card. At those times, when Shimako would blush and stutter just slightly, it felt like Noriko would die from trying not to kiss her.

But that, she's decided, is just Shimako being a good onee-sama. Because despite those contradictory moments, Shimako treats her as nothing more than a good friend, a confidante. And it's not that she's not happy with the trust her onee-sama puts in her, but Noriko is only a teenage girl, after all.

It wouldn't hurt her ego, she thinks, to see Shimako's mask twitch just a little bit when Noriko gets a little too friendly with an upperclassman (and she knows quite a few, due to her outgoing nature, but she isn't sure if Shimako knows of this. She'll make a mental note to use it later, perhaps), like Sachiko's does so often every time the previous Rosa Gigantea, Shimako's onee-sama, is within a fifty-yard radius of Yumi. Careful observation tells Noriko that Shimako would probably just smile and thank them for taking care of her petite soeur, though.

And it's not like Noriko doesn't love her onee-sama for who she is, but would it be so hard to give her just a little sign? A kiss on the cheek, a touch on her arm- anything, really, that would give Noriko some kind of sign that her love isn't in vain. Shimako isn't like Sachiko, after all, and Noriko is infinitely thankful for that- she personally has no idea how Yumi can stand there and take everything Sachiko throws at her and come out more in love than she had been before.

She does feel sorry for Touko on such occasions- even Noriko can see that, though Touko has a rough exterior, she would treat Yumi like the princess she deserved to be treated as, not the burden Sachiko always seemed to make her out to be.

But she can't and won't spend all her time worrying about the Rosas Chinesis and the drama that they seemed to attract like magnets.

Sometimes she gets the strongest urge to touch Shimako, and not just a simple brush of the arms or clasp of the hands.

Sometimes all she wants to do wrap her arms around her onee-sama's waist and rest her head on her chest and fall asleep there and never wake up.

She sometimes wonders if such urges are normal, and then shrugs it off, because she is a teenage girl, after all. Such feelings are to be expected until after college, where she will undoubtedly marry a nice, boring boy and have a nice, boring house with two point five nice, boring children, who would undoubtedly go through this same phase.

Only Noriko doesn't want that.

She doesn't know what she wants, only that she doesn't want Shimako to be a phase, no matter how much it hurts.

She doesn't know how many more moments she'll have with Shimako, only that there will always be one too few.

But Noriko isn't the kind of girl to give up, even when she really _ought _to.

Beside her, she gazes boldly at her onee-sama until Shimako slowly looks up, having undoubtedly felt her petite soeur's eyes boring into her. And she hesitates for half a second before smiling that beautiful, sweet, bashful little smile like she's got nothing to hide from the world, and Noriko is struck by an irrepressible wave of jealousy to whoever gets to wake up to that smile for the rest of their lives, and she's oh so sure they don't deserve her, even though she's never met them before and Shimako likely hasn't either.

Noriko grins widely back, her heart cheering inside her chest when a pretty blush forms over the bridge of Shimako's lightly freckled nose.

And it becomes apparent to her in that one second that she won't be able to let Shimako go without a fight, even if the person would make her onee-sama happier than anything, and it scares her. But for now, she's going to do the only thing she knows how.

She's going to prove her love to Shimako, and leave it up to her to decide whether she wants it or not. There's nothing sadder than giving up without so much as trying, and having to live with the dreams of what could have been.

**Yoshino-chan**

She loves Rei.

She's in love with Rei, and she thinks that anyone who can't see that needs their eyes examined immediately. And the only reason they might not see it is because stupid Rei-chan won't let anything happen between them- she's always pulling away a second too soon, lingering a second too long.

Because we're _cousins_, Yoshino, and it isn't right.

But Sachiko-sama is engaged to that switch-hitter Kashiwagi and they're cousins, she'll always say, but Rei just smiles sadly and shakes her head.

It's not the same thing, Yoshino.

And it's not, because they actually love each other, and Yoshino is not going to give up until Rei realizes that.

**So should I keep going or quit while I'm ahead? Remember, reviews make a huge difference to me!**


	2. One: Not So Much Easier to Run

**Watashi No Meru: Thank you! When I'm doing character studies like that prologue, sometimes I can go a bit overboard in the descriptions and the writing style by trying to make it realistic. So I'm really glad it worked out! Thank you for your opinion on continuing this idea, as well. And also, on Noriko and Shimako- what's not to adore? I especially love the screenshot of them during the end credits of the last episode of MariMite to date.**

**Artistia: I'm glad you think so too! =) That was my opinion throughout the fourth season as Touko's character began to branch out. Eventually, out of curiosity, I tried to imagine myself being with someone like Sachiko and I couldn't imagine doing it. It would, for me, break my heart to love someone so cold, who was always looking down on me, whether she loved me back or not. This is definitely not a bad thing- just an opinion. In my opinion, Yumi would be happier with someone able to show her how much she's worth, and I do believe that Touko could and would do so. And I always thought Touko would fight for her, too, and a fight scene? With Touko and Sachiko's personalities? It's pretty much inevitable, don't you agree? =)**

**Bumble Monkey: I'll do my best!**

**Hyoyeong: Thanks! I'm glad you're willing to give my story a chance! Obviously Sachiko/Yumi will exist, though it might not be the ending pairing. It's difficult to write this story in the beginning, only because I'm trying to think of the way Shimako and Yumi would react…anyway, thank you!**

**Summary: The Roses reflect upon their relationships with their respective soeurs.**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**One: Not So Much Easier to Run**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

"But don't you think that's going a bit too far?"

"Says the girl who's been spending her lunches with the captain of the fencing team in hopes to make her onee-sama jealous," Touko muttered under her breath. The comment didn't go unheard, and Noriko glared at her. "What? It's true, isn't it? And even though Shimako-sama isn't the type to get jealous…"

Noriko plopped down into the seat in front of the drill-haired girl. "At least I'm _doing _something about it instead of sitting around, planning to ignore her for no apparent reason," she replied sharply. "And it's not even like that with Minami-san. She's my friend." Touko rolled her eyes and Noriko growled under her breath. "You and I both know that Yumi-sama isn't going to realize what's going on inside that head of yours until you smack her in the face with it."

Touko recoiled at the harsh sounding words, her hand instinctively curling into a fist. Glancing down to acknowledge this fact, Noriko laughed in disbelief. "You've got it worse than I thought, don't you?" she asked, incredulous at Touko's reaction to her figure of speech. Touko huffed, turning away from Noriko in a slightly childish manner like she always did whenever she wasn't particularly happy with a subject. "You know, if you ever do work up the guts to tell her how you feel, and if you two do end up together, you're going to be even more overprotective than Sachiko-sama."

"Hmph," Touko huffed again. "Yumi-sama can't defend herself, and what's she going to do if she ever ends up in a bad situation and nobody around her can stand up for her?"

Noriko couldn't suppress the small smile that appeared on her face as Touko pouted, her arms folded tightly over her chest. She had to admit that the other girl could be absolutely adorable, even more so than Yumi. And, knowing her friend like she did, Noriko knew that, while Touko's words sounded harsh, the younger girl had every intention of protecting Yumi from anything and everything that could possibly hurt her.

_I wonder if she realizes that that includes Sachik0-sama?_

After a moment of silence, Touko spoke up. "And can we stop focusing on me and onee-sama?" she asked in the same huffy tone. "It's not like I'm any worse about her than you are about Shimako-sama."

Noriko stiffened. "It's different," she said, suddenly finding the ground very interesting. "Yumi-sama goes out of her way to make you feel loved and welcome and I can't understand why you're so afraid to see if she loves you in the same way that you love her. Yes, she loves Sachiko-sama, but it's very obvious that she loves you too. With Shimako-san I just…I don't know. She doesn't really show a lot of affection like Yumi-sama does, but she doesn't cover it with being obviously jealous and overprotective like Sachiko-sama does. She sees me as a close friend, and nothing more," Noriko finished, her shoulders slumping slightly.

"At least you don't have to worry about someone taking her away from you," Touko countered rather half-heartedly, pulling out a bento that her favorite servant had prepared for her. It wasn't much, but Nanako was always sure to ask Touko about her day and her friends at school, paying attention to the drill-haired girl when no one else bothered to.

Noriko shrugged. "No, but as I said before, Shimako-san is very…distant," she said softly, swinging her feet just above the floor. "Something tells me that when she falls in love, she's going to go all out for it. She's going to let that person know they're loved every second of the day, and they'll be the luckiest person in the world."

"Suit yourself," Touko stated mildly. "I'm guessing you're not staying for lunch?"

Noriko shook her head. "I'm having lunch with Minami-san- don't look at me like that!" she growled when Touko raised her eyebrows, a cute little smirk adorning her child-like features. "Is it so wrong to want to make friends?"

"It is when you're using them to get extra loving from your onee-sama," Touko muttered under her breath. Noriko chose to ignore the comment and grabbed her own bento, heading out of the classroom and down the hall.

**PGBR**

Noriko really didn't plan to meet up with Aoi Minami to make Shimako jealous. The thought had crossed her mind, of course, because she was a young girl in love, after all, but it had been dispelled moments later. Even if Shimako did, by some miracle, have feelings for her, she was most certainly not the jealous type, and Noriko didn't mind the extra company on the days that she didn't feel like she could face her onee-sama.

"Still haven't told her, hmm?"

Noriko sighed as she slid into the desk next to the grinning redhead. Minami was also the only person, besides Touko, who'd figured it out herself, who knew of Noriko's feelings for Shimako. "What do you think?" she asked, smiling wryly at the older girl.

And it wasn't as if Noriko didn't try- she was always teasing Shimako with light, witty jabs, forever enjoying Shimako's quiet giggle or subtle blushes. They completed each other, she knew. It was just that Noriko wasn't quite complete with only so much of Shimako as she already had.

"Ara?" Minami cooed, her head tilted and her eyes wide, the very picture of innocence, as if she truly were surprised. "Then, Noriko-chan, you must not be trying hard enough."

Noriko rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I walked all this way to have lunch with you when I could be-"

"With Shimako-onee-sa-ma?"

"Cute," Noriko said blandly as the older girl giggled, losing all pretense of innocence, her chin resting on her intertwined fingers. "Yes, with Onee-sama. She'd be much better company."

"I'm sure she would…"

"You know," Noriko said, turning to face the red-head who was really starting to get on her nerves, "I could always tell Tsukasa how you feel about her. Seriously, she's about two seats over- right next to Touko-chan. Who I'm sure would be happy to help with such a worthy cause."

That shut Minami up fast. Despite how open she was with her teasing of Noriko, she was very hesitant to discuss her relationship with her petite soeur. Noriko smirked- she was used to being the teaser, not the teasee, and she knew exactly how to stop Minami when she crossed the line. "Right, well," she said, standing up now that her bento was finished, "tell me how that goes, yeah?"

Ignoring the glare she was receiving from the red-head, Noriko stood and headed back to her own classroom, where she would undoubtedly count away the moments until she could see Shimako only to dread the moment when it finally came.

**PGBR**

Later, at the Rose Mansion, both Noriko and Touko found themselves slightly hunched over, Touko switching between envying Sachiko and blushing at Yumi's concern over her wellbeing while Noriko stirred her tea moodily and envied Touko for the attention she was so easily given.

"Noriko?"

Noriko gave a small start as the sweet voice of her onee-sama jerked her out of her daze. "Onee-sama?" she replied with a small smile- Yumi would have been flushed crimson by this point, but Noriko was infinitely grateful for her poker face beneath Shimako's concerned gaze. "Is something wrong?"

Shimako frowned slightly, her cheeks taking on a subtle pink hue when she realized that her concern had been unnecessary. "Well, no…"

Noriko smiled gently, seeing an opportunity. "Perhaps I should be asking you that, onee-sama," she said playfully, and was rewarded by a slightly deeper blush. "Don't worry about me, onee-sama," she replied more seriously, but still with the gentle smile. Never lose the smile, or she'll see right through you. It was hard enough to keep her secret from Shimako, but if her onee-sama ever asked her outright…Shimako could sense a lie blindfolded and with her hands tied behind her back. But as long as Noriko never gave her a reason to ask, she saw no need to lie in the near future.

Shimako studied Noriko for another minute before nodding slowly and refocusing on Sachiko.

Noriko exhaled deeply- she'd almost been done for that time. She looked back up only to find Shimako's beautiful gray eyes resting on her once again, and too late she realized that she'd sighed too loudly. She gave Shimako a reassuring smile, but the worried frown didn't disappear this time. It was the look that, if Shimako had been anyone else, would have told her she had some explaining to do. However, Noriko figured if she simply acted normally for the rest of the meeting, Shimako would let her be.

**PGBR**

It was becoming increasingly apparent to Touko that no matter how much she huffed and puffed, Yumi was not going to come to the correct conclusion by herself. And she couldn't decide whether to be grateful or annoyed.

She hated it, the way that Yumi would cling to Sachiko and look up at her with those starry, adoring eyes because she knew in her heart that Yumi would always belong to Sachiko, whether she deserved her or otherwise. Yumi adored Sachiko; worshipped the ground she walked on, and Touko could never be anything save for a half-hearted replacement when Sachiko inevitably married Suguru and broke Yumi's heart.

But what she would hate even more would be the pity- the sympathetic looks and well-meaning touches she knew Yumi would give her if she ever knew of Touko's feelings. And she knew they would be there- she knew Yumi would feel guilty and try to make up for it by spending more time with her, but Touko knew that Sachiko would always come first.

So she supposed it was better that Yumi didn't know after all.

Sachiko (finally) stopped ranting on some vaguely important topic, and Touko got to her feet, jerking her bag over her shoulder and turning just in time to smirk as Noriko brushed past her at a slightly rushed pace. Turning back, she was able to confirm her suspicions- Shimako was staring after her, hand slightly outstretched and eyes slightly confused as if Noriko had simply disappeared.

Not waiting for SachikoandYumi (for it seemed that their joint strategy would be avoiding the objects of their impossible affection), Touko practically skipped out of the mansion, wondering what Noriko could possibly have done to warrant the concern of her onee-sama.

And yet…

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Touko asked, one eyebrow raised. "Nothing as in nothing nothing or nothing as in something nothing?"

"Nothing!" Noriko repeated in an exhausted tone. "I didn't do anything! Well, I guess I sighed a bit loudly, but I've never known onee-sama to worry over little gestures like that."

"Hmm," Touko hummed, "Maybe if you would stop spending your lunches with your precious _senpai…_"

"Is that where you've been, Noriko?"

Noriko went rigid, her eyes boring into Touko, who flounced away with a cheeky little smirk adorning her features. Of course- she had forgotten that her own problems were Touko's favorite distraction. "Uh," was her elegant reply as she turned to face her onee-sama alone. "Maybe?"

Shimako tilted her head. "Maybe?" she asked with a small smile. "Don't you know for sure?"

"Hehe…" Noriko rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Well, yes. But Touko-chan was exaggerating a bit." How she was exaggerating, though, she'd yet to think up. "It's nothing to worry about, onee-sama."

Shimako studied her for a moment, and Noriko tried to keep her face as blank as possible beneath the speculative gray gaze. Her onee-sama was an excellent reader of expressions, and Noriko really didn't need today to be the day that everything spilled out. "If everything is alright," Shimako said slowly, "then why were you sighing?"

"Ah, you know, the usual," Noriko hedged. "Studying, school…I'm just a bit tired, onee-sama." She topped it off with what she hoped was a winning smile, and before she could stop herself, reached out and took Shimako's hand in hers, marveling at the softness of her skin. "Really," she finished, looking directly into Shimako's eyes, knowing that was the only way she could be sure that her onee-sama would believe her.

A pretty blush stained Shimako's cheeks for a short moment, only to disappear when Noriko dropped her hand rather unceremoniously, realizing that she'd held on too long. _And that's not disappointment you see in her eyes. It's dangerous to think like that. You'll only be hurt in the end. _"If you're sure…," Shimako murmured hesitantly, and Noriko beamed, glad she'd been spared for another day. Before she had a chance to think, she threw her arms around Shimako for a tight embrace, quickly letting go and blatantly ignoring the no-running rule as she ran for her bus, leaving a stunned Shimako staring after her.

**-ending notes: I really do think that Touko would be more protective of Yumi than Sachiko is, just due to her nature and some traits I've seen her display in the anime. And we all know that Yumi would be utterly useless if the first years ever decided to combine their efforts and somehow capture her.**


	3. Two: Give Me Time

**I do want to make something clear before I go further with this fic- I have nothing against Sachiko, or the Sachiko/Yumi pairing. I think that it's sweet, and unlike many characters, I believe that while Sachiko is stubborn and focused on perhaps the wrong things, she does have a good heart and she does love Yumi. I just believe that Touko has…more capability(?) to love Yumi. She isn't restrained by her family's expectations, and (in my opinion) would be quite protective of Yumi and would be much more conscious of how her actions might affect her, unlike Sachiko, who seems not to see that.**

**Artistia: I hope that Touko's more…dominant side will gradually start to make its appearance. It's rather hard to keep her in character and still have her showing more affection to Yumi, but when you think that she's competing for her, it gets a bit easier. I hope Touko became a little more bold in this chapter? I feel sorry for Noriko as well, but I don't think Shimako will be able to stay silent forever ;)**

**Watashi No Meru: Hopefully that's not a bad thing- I used the first chapter as a prologue and focused on an in depth character study. And Jealous!Touko is adorable, right? Yoshino and Rei won't have as big a part in this story, but I figured they had some Onee-sama drama too, so…I was thinking that would come in around the next chapter, and with that I could also get some of Shimako's POV out there, since she and Yoshino are in the same class and all. And you're right about the unnoticed love thing =)**

**Lunar Adept: I'm glad it caught your attention, and I hope it lives up to your expectations!**

**CelticX: Thanks! And I honestly hadn't thought too much about Minami and Tsukasa- actually I kinda freaked cuz I was like 'wait, I didn't mean to bring in an OC!' xD But I'm glad you liked the characters and I probably will mention them again, at least to close off their story =)**

**Hyoyeong: Yes, World War III may break out over Yumi xD I don't think Sachiko would give Yumi up, but I don't think Touko would if she set her mind to it either. And did I say Sachiko wasn't changing? I believe that was another reviewer. But if so, then I misspoke =P I think Sachiko has already changed a lot for Yumi, but I just think Touko would be BETTER for Yumi if that makes sense at all. And I don't mind the long review- in fact, longer reviews make me happiest =)**

**Summary: The Roses reflect upon their relationships with their respective soeurs.**

**I'm hoping to have this story kind of expand to include everyone's thoughts and relationship drama and stuff so…yeah…except Eriko's, cuz she's in love with a man, so I seriously dgaf. I'm bi, but for some reason I only like fem/slash fics.**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Two: Give Me Time**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

Today was a good day, Touko decided.

She'd managed to get Yumi away from Sachiko by being sulkier than usual and refusing to give Yumi a reason why, knowing that the older girl wouldn't give her a moments' peace until she knew the truth (she was very, very grateful for the acting skill she'd been born with, underhanded as it was). She was now walking alongside her, their fingers intertwined because Yumi wanted to make up for whatever it was she'd done.

And then Touko felt her good mood slipping through her fingertips as quickly as it had come as a familiar figure came into view. Gritting her teeth, she folded her arms over her chest and sniffed petulantly, waiting for Yumi to finish whatever she needed to with her stalker.

"Good morning, Kanako-chan," Yumi said with her trademark bright smile, and Touko felt a twinge of jealousy at the sight. What had that lumbering basket case done to deserve such a smile?

"Good morning," Kanako said shyly, returning the smile and sending Touko a not-so-subtle glare, which Touko promptly returned with a haughty smile, forcing herself to remember that Yumi had chosen her, not Kanako. "I was just wondering if you wanted me to walk you to class."

Touko felt a familiar, burning sensation engulfing her like an inferno, and this time, she didn't bother to hold back as she stepped in between Yumi and Kanako. This time, she had the right to intervene, and you could be damn sure she was going to exercise it. "Onee-sama already has a petite soeur," she practically growled, her figure tense and her little body as big as it could get- she did _hate _Kanako's height advantage. She was sick and tired of the Amazonian girl following Yumi around looking like someone had kicked her puppy to death, and she certainly wasn't going to put up with more competition when she had the right to abolish it. "Therefore, I don't understand_ why_ you continue to follow her around when you are _obviously _not wanted."

"T-Touko-chan," Yumi began, both shocked and touched by Touko's fierce reaction to Kanako's overly affectionate behavior. But she had to stop the drill-haired girl before she crushed the tall girl's spirit beneath her tiny feet. "I can handle this. Kanako-chan, you are welcome to help out around the Yamayurikai, but I _do _have a petite soeur." Touko shot Kanako a cheeky smirk, to which the tall girl returned a death glare. Yumi's smile froze in place as she felt the full force of the tension between them until Touko shot Kanako a cold look she'd learned from Sachiko, successfully sending the girl away, albeit reluctantly.

"Touko-chan," Yumi said once Kanako was out of hearing range, "was it really necessary to be so mean?"

Touko huffed, folding her arms tightly over her chest and turning away from Yumi to hide her flushed cheeks. "Sometimes I wonder who the onee-sama is here," she muttered, her blush darkening when Yumi wrapped her in a tight embrace. "W-what are you doing? We're in public, onee-sama!"

Yumi giggled. "Arigatou, Touko-chan," she whispered into the tense girl's ear, finding Touko's flustered state quite adorable.

"Hmph!" Touko replied with a huff, tossing the bangs out of her face and hesitantly hugging Yumi back. "Onee-sama should learn how to take care of herself." An evil smirk became apparent on the younger girl's face. "Who knows what could happen if I'm not around and she gets cornered by a group of rabid first-years wanting her affections…"

"Touko-chaaan!"

Touko giggled madly at her onee-sama's reaction, feeling like her old, mischievous self again for a moment before she pulled away from the older girl slightly so that she could see her face. As Yumi's mocha eyes met her own, she was overcome by a strong, almost irrepressible wave of protectiveness- she'd never had anything she'd needed to protect before, after all. Her parents never paid much mind to her and Suguru and Sachiko had each other, but here was this _girl _who had crashed into her life with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer and somehow Touko looked into those mocha eyes and saw something she needed to protect from the cold, uncaring world that Yumi was so obviously too good for. The world Touko knew all too well. She brushed a stray hair from her onee-sama's face, her smirk fading into something more gentle as her hand paused at Yumi's cheek. "Don't worry, onee-sama," she said, slowly allowing her hand to slip away from the warm skin of the girl she'd fallen in love with so very quickly, "I'd protect you."

_Even though you love her._

**PGBR**

"I'd protect you?"

Touko pouted as Noriko laughed hysterically at Touko's retelling of the events of that morning. "How obvious can you get?"

"You forget we're talking about onee-sama," Touko replied rather sharply, still miffed at Noriko's reaction. "It's not like I tried that on Shimako-sama or anything." Noriko's eyes hardened almost imperceptibly, and Touko groaned. "Not that I _would_," she said, rolling her eyes so far back they might have gotten stuck that way. "You know that better than anyone."

Noriko grumbled under her breath.

"Anyway," Touko continued, "you aren't eating with Minami-san today?" Noriko shook her head. "Why not?"

"Bored of me already?" the black-haired girl teased her friend, who rolled her eyes and huffed. "It's because I don't want to interfere between her and Tsukasa- it's about time she told her how she feels."

Touko smiled wryly. "Should either of us really be saying such a thing?" she asked, a flicker of sadness dancing through her mischievous eyes.

"Under normal circumstances, no," Noriko agreed, "but it's pretty obvious that Tsukasa-san is in love with Minami-san as well, and she wasn't too thrilled that we were spending so much time together."

"Ah, so that's what those glares were about," Touko mused, her gaze shifting to the small blonde a few seats away. "I thought she was glaring at me."

Noriko raised an eyebrow, and Touko groaned in exasperation. "No, really!" she cried. "It wouldn't be anything new, with all of Onee-sama's fans." The spiteful tone in which Touko spoke the word 'fans' gave away everything that the drill-haired girl had tried to keep hidden.

"You're being dramatic," Noriko said blandly, though she knew that there was quite a bit of truth to Touko's words. "Well, you've more than hinted to her that you like her, but does she have even the slightest clue that you might like her _like that_?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Touko muttered, stabbing at her bento. "At least I don't outright lie to onee-sama when she asks me what's going on like some people I know," she said pointedly, eyeing Noriko with more than a little bit of a hint. "She's not going to buy your lame excuses forever, you know. I thought you were going to show her how you felt?"

Noriko looked down at her own bento. "It's not as easy as I thought it'd be," she said after a moment. "Onee-sama's a lot more perceptive than Yumi-sama, so it's not like I could just ease into it or anything."

"It'll be worse if you keep pushing her away and she ends up confronting you about it," Touko pointed out. "You might have a good poker face, but no one can lie to Shimako-sama for forever, especially not her own petite soeur."

"Talk to me about that once you've told Yumi-sama how you feel," Noriko replied as a way of cutting off the less than pleasant conversation.

**PGBR**

The only hint that Sachiko gave of her displeasure of the increasing closeness between her Yumi and Touko was a subtle flicker in her deep blue eyes. They'd darken just so every time Touko dared to touch Yumi with a look in her eyes that told Sachiko it was more than sisterly love she felt. It was a hint that flew right over Yumi and hit Touko like the buzz of an electric shock. You couldn't place where exactly the feeling was coming from at first, but once you found it, you jumped away as quickly as possible.

Only Touko wasn't jumping away- she was holding on, suffering Sachiko's cold stares for the sake of her feelings for her onee-sama. As much as Sachiko loved to see Touko finally giving in to Yumi's offer, she was quite horribly selfish, as one who had never before had to share so much as a shirt might be expected to be. Two conflicting emotions were waging war on each other within her- her wish for Touko's happiness and her need for her own.

Because as much as she hated to admit it, she'd become dependent on Yumi- her petite soeur was her sun, and without it, she'd be plunged back into the darkness that she'd resided in for years, back into an endless, grayscale future with Suguru and back into the coldness of her own heart. And Touko…Touko could have Yumi- Sachiko could learn to share, as long as she didn't steal Yumi's heart away from her in the process.

Because Sachiko knew that if anyone was capable of stealing Yumi's love from her, it was her cheeky little cousin with the spark of mischief in her eyes and the fear in her heart. Fear of abandonment, of betrayal…but somehow Yumi had managed to work past those barriers and melt Touko's heart just as she had Sachiko's.

It didn't surprise Sachiko at all, of course- really, she should have thought of as much. But how could she possibly have expected Touko to fall for Yumi as much as, or harder, than she herself had? Conniving, distrustful Touko wasn't supposed to fall in love with (her) Yumi, and even if she had, she certainly wasn't supposed to accept her feelings as such. She was supposed to run, to be afraid to feel love for the first time in her life, just as Sachiko had been.

But that wasn't true- she saw the fear in those deep gray eyes. It had always been Touko's biggest downfall as an actress- she could smile and laugh and scheme all she wanted, but those sad, lonely eyes could never tell a lie.

And that's what landed Sachiko here, watching Touko with wary eyes as the younger girl walked into the Mansion, clinging to Yumi's arm the way she used to cling to Sachiko. It was all an act, of course- Touk0's motives weren't so innocent, but it was probably the most the younger girl felt she could do without arousing Yumi's suspicions. Yumi looked blissfully unaware of Touko's true motives, and seemed to be ecstatic that the drill-haired girl was showing her more human side so freely. Sachiko sighed.

"Really, Yumi," she murmured fondly with a shake of her head, her chin resting in her left hand as she stared out the window, "Even now, when you hold both our hearts in the palm of your hand…"

**PGBR**

Touko practically skipped into the Rose Mansion, both her arms wrapped around Yumi's left. It was perfect- a position that she'd taken so many times with Sachiko (back when she wasn't competition, back when she was still her Sachiko-oneesama) that Yumi wouldn't suspect a thing. Noriko was already there making tea, and she shot Touko a disparaging look.

"Really?" she murmured under her breath. "Yumi-sama might not see through it, but she forgets about Sachik0-sama…"

"Hmm?"

Noriko jumped, turning on the spot to find her onee-sama gazing at her with imploring eyes, a small smile lighting up her features. "Uh…" _That's real eloquent, Noriko. _"Nothing just…talking…to myself…" She trailed off, feeling stupider and stupider as she went on.

Shimako's lips twitched downwards just slightly- Noriko might have missed it if she wasn't always so enthralled with her onee-sama's every expression and feature. But once she caught the motion, it was impossible to ignore the flicker of confused dejection in Shimako's lovely eyes.

_Good going, baka- not only is she suspicious, but now you've gone and upset her too._

She sighed and slumped (decidedly unladylike) into the chair next to Shimako, hesitating for only a moment to consider sitting across from her instead. But then she would have to look at her onee-sama and those beautiful, concerned eyes that would never shine with anything but friendly love for her framed by soft, light brown curls that she'd never be allowed to stroke for the entire meeting, and it seemed as if she always looked too long or too fast and she'd rather just stare at her tea, thank you kindly.

"Noriko…"

And now Shimako was looking at her with that half-frown that she only ever did when she was hurt, and Noriko felt her heart break in her chest. But what was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to _do _that Shimako wouldn't see through immediately? Telling herself she would prove her feelings and actually doing so were two very different things, and although Noriko hated feeling scared and powerless, she hated feeling alone more than anything, and if Shimako hated her for what she felt…

Rei began to talk about the upcoming holidays and Noriko did the first thing that came to mind- pretended she hadn't heard her onee-sama's soft spoken complaint. It was stupid and cowardly and the worst thing she could have done, and she regretted it immediately because she could _feel _Shimako gazing at her with that same hurt expression for the rest of the meeting.

But she didn't know what else she could do.

**PGBR**

At the end of the meeting, Sachiko stood gently slid her hand into Yumi's before Touko had the chance to attach herself to her onee-sama again. Yumi's face instantly flushed crimson, and Touko forced her eyes to the ground as she trudged along behind them. It was funny, really- she'd laughed at Yumi's various expressions so many times, but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that they could hurt her so much. And she could swear that Sachiko was dangling Yumi just out of her reach, like a puppet master who controlled every move her puppet made. Where Sachiko went, Yumi would follow, and Sachiko knew as much- she had to.

And she had to know how much it stung Touko to see yet another thing she cared about- loved, even- being ripped away from her.

Touko wanted so badly to hate her cousin, but she could never bring herself to do so, because after all, wouldn't she do the same thing if she knew Yumi belonged to her? Wouldn't she do everything in her power to protect that bond and wouldn't she feel proud, flaunting that bond in front of those who contemplated taking it away?

Sachiko loved Yumi as much as Touko did- she wouldn't pretend to be naïve. Touko didn't deserve Yumi any more than Sachiko did, but wasn't it unfair that Sachiko had gotten to her first? Wasn't it unfair that every little thing she loved was ripped away from her until she was taught not to love anymore?

Was this a lesson, then? She allowed herself to fall back in love when she'd been taught to deny her own heart, and now it felt like everything was falling apart again, and all she could do was stand and watch as the girl who meant everything to her was snatched away by the girl who meant everything to _her_, and all she could do was keep the tears at bay to hold onto what little dignity she had left.

_No._

Touko gritted her teeth, her hands clenching tighter around her bag. No, she would _not _just let Yumi slip through her fingertips. If she fought Sachiko and lost, then so be it, but she would _not _just stand and watch yet another precious thing be ripped from her tentative hands.

**-ending notes: Not really any other than I what I stated in the beginning, that I'm going to try and expand the storyline.**


	4. Three: Innocent Until Proven Otherwise

**I've noticed that some of the character's names end in zeroes instead of Os, but I've looked back at them on Word, and they're typed correctly there…it must be a site glitch or something =P Sorry about that for those it bothers.**

**Summary: The Roses reflect upon their relationships with their respective soeurs.**

**Watashi No Meru: I get what you're saying =) I just had to make sure because the internet's like texting…you can't read people's reactions xD Anyway, I'm glad it's still flowing fluidly- I've tried writing entire fics in that other style before and they all ended up just…bleh =P And I don't like Kanako much either, and I figured (in my yurified interpretation) that part of the reason Touko hated Kanako was because she was the only 'serious' competition for Yumi =P And I thought it'd be a cute touch, especially since Touko has bigger things to worry about, like Sachiko. **

**Lunar Adept: Very poetic =) Also- that better be one REALLY deep trench. You know how them Chinesis…is…get xD And I feel sorry for Noriko too, though I hope I added in a bit more for her in this chapter. Actually, I know I did…I just hope I didn't overdo it =P Shimako's very hard to write. I just love Touko and her tsun tsun DERE moments xD**

**Artistia: When I get really involved in a story, I tend to write frequently just so I don't lose any ideas. That and this is the summer before college, and I graduated high school ahead of my class, so I have virtually no life xP**

**tears of the soul: Thank you =) I actually found that area a bit confusing- I couldn't really tell how Yumi was doing on her own because she was so lost in feeling that she was being replaced. And hopefully this chapter gives a bit more of an insight on the older girls POVs, though I'm not sure it's what you're looking for. You're right- the soeur system is difficult, especially to write, especially the Chinesis family. I know that Yumi is devoted to Sachiko but at the same time I think she'd be better off with Touko…it's a difficult thing to write, for sure.**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Three: Kissing is Innocent Until Proven Otherwise**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

Shimazu Yoshino was miffed.

Okay, so that might have been a bit of an understatement.

She was currently seated at her desk, her chin resting on the cold wood and her brow furrowed into a very defined frown. _Baka Rei-chan…_

After several minutes, Yumi seemed to work up the courage to find out what was wrong this time, as Shimako, who had always been the best out of the two of dealing with Yoshino's moods, appeared to be in deep thought. "Ano…Yoshino-san? Did something happen?"

Yoshino scoffed. "What on earth would give you _that _idea?" she asked. "When does anything _ever _happen?"

_Ah…so it's Rei-sama again… _Yumi thought, familiar with Yoshino's constant struggle. It seemed that they were all having soeur problems at once now- Yoshino with her struggle for Rei's attention, Shimako with her confusion over Noriko's avoidant behavior, and Yumi with Touko's polarized mood swings. The _Kawaraban_ would have a field day. "Well…what didn't happen then?" she asked, bracing herself for the brunt of Yoshino's angst.

But Yoshino only sighed and blew a pencil across the desk, watching it until it landed against her chin. "Everything," she muttered. "Rei-chan and I were watching a movie last night- I got to pick," Yoshino added with a smirk, and Yumi's smile froze in place, knowing that the young Yellow Rose had probably chosen a horror movie under the pretense of cuddling up to her onee-sama, when it was really Rei who couldn't stand them. Yoshino liked them 'for the guts'. "Anyway, every time I tried to cuddle with her, she'd move a little farther away. By the end of the movie, she was pressed up against the opposite arm of the couch!"

Steam was practically pouring out of Yoshino's ears and she was breathing heavily, obviously enraged. Yumi didn't think it would be good for her health to ask exactly why Rei was pressed against the opposite end of the couch, and besides, with as pushy as Yoshino could be, it wasn't too unbelievable. "Um…I'm sorry, Yoshino-san," she said after a moment's silence, glancing nervously at a still silent Shimako. Usually the soft-spoken White Rose was the one who placated Yoshino in these situations.

But Shimako was staring out the large window beside her desk, eyes clouded over in thought. It wasn't unusual for Shimako to remain silent, but for her to space out altogether was worrisome to say the least.

"Does Noriko seem different to you?"

"Eh?"

Even Yoshino was shocked by Shimako's sudden question. "Um…there's no way we would know if you don't, Shimako-san," she said with a confused frown. "But…she hasn't really _acted _any different around me."

"Or me," Yumi added. She tilted her head in concern when Shimako sighed and turned back to the window, her expression slightly clearer than before. It was obvious that she was upset about something, and now they could be fairly certain that Noriko had something to do with it, but the youngest Gigantea really hadn't been acting any different as far as she could tell. Then again, Noriko did have quite the poker face, and if anyone could call her on it, it would be Shimako.

"Why?" Yoshino asked after a few minutes of awkward silence. "Is she acting different around _you_?"

Shimako was silent for a moment before answering vaguely. "It seems that way," she said softly. "It's not like she's unhappy, but she's never relaxed, and sometimes it feels like she comes very close to saying something she obviously doesn't want me to hear." Her beautiful features were marred slightly by a small, concerned frown.

Yoshino raised an eyebrow- Shimako was supposed to be the perceptive one? There was only one answer that came to mind, but she decided not to voice her opinion, knowing full well the story of the Gigantea family and how wrong they had been in their hunch the first time.

"Now that you mention it, Touko-chan's been acting strange as well," Yumi stated, and Yoshino really did roll her eyes this time. "Not in a bad way, though…" While Noriko was difficult to get a good read on, Yoshino was positive that Touko was suffering from a bad case of lovesick, and was remedying it the only way she knew how- by clinging to Yumi as much as possible because it was the only way the poor girl knew how to hold on.

She sighed- such were the troubles of the younger generation. She, on the other hand, felt that she had a true problem with Rei- how was she ever supposed to take a chance if Rei never gave the situation the chance to create the chance in the first place?

**PGBR**

Noriko stared down at the ground with a slight shiver- she could make out traces of frost on the cobblestone walkway by the ginkgo trees. Winter was approaching fast this year.

"Still nothing?"

Noriko didn't even look up at the voice of her senpai. "Nope," she said dryly, "and I don't think you should be talking. I stopped spending lunch with you so that you could talk to Tsukasa-chan and I can _tell _that you haven't said anything to her."

"Tsukasa is a gentle flower," Minami said with a twinkle in her eye that told the younger girl she was teasing. "You can't water it too much or it will droop and die of root grout."

Noriko wrinkled her nose. "That didn't even make sense," she said. "And gross. You're really bad at this metaphor thing."

"Yeah, well," Minami said, plopping down next to Noriko on the cement steps. "At least I'm not out here moping over it."

"I'm not moping," Noriko said with a glare before she realized that was exactly what the redhead wanted. Minami was looking at her the way she'd seen Eriko look at Yoshino on the day the previous Roses had visited. "Just…whatever."

"Now you're definitely moping."

"Why are you out here again?" Noriko asked, sitting up straighter and looking at Minami expectantly.

"To cheer you up of course," she said with a toothy grin, flashing the peace sign. "I've been told I have a healing presence."

Trying not to be disturbed by that fact, Noriko leaned back and stared up at the immense trees surrounding her. It had been around here that she'd first met Shimako- here that she'd promised never to leave her. And now… "I'm hurting her," she said softly, her gaze not leaving the ginkgo-strewn ground. "The other day…I could tell just from the way she looked at me."

"Of course you're hurting her," Minami said, oblivious to the glare Noriko treated her to. "You're her petite soeur- I can only imagine how I'd feel if Tsukasa suddenly started avoiding me for no reason. And especially if she was spending that time with another senpai…"

Noriko scoffed. "Shimako-san isn't like you. It doesn't bother her if I spend my time with other senpai."

Minami raised both eyebrows. "I wouldn't be so sure about that," she said, leaning back against the steps.

"She already knows," Noriko countered. "Touko let it slip the other day, even though she never mentioned your name. She just smiled and asked if that was why I'd been acting distant."

Minami shrugged noncommittally, glancing up over her shoulder. "I guess we'll see who's right," she murmured under her breath before donning her usual charming smile. "Good day, Rosa Gigantea!"

Noriko choked on her rice, causing Minami to snicker and Shimako to hurry to her side, looking alarmed. "Noriko?" she asked, her hand firm on the younger girl's shoulder, her face only a few inches away. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, onee-sama," she said with a feeble grin, still winded from both the shock of Shimako's presence and the rice that had gone down the wrong way. "Promise."

Shimako's brow remained slightly drawn as she straightened slowly, her gray eyes finally flickering to the smiling redhead to her left. An awkward pause hung in the air for a few moments before she addressed Minami. "Good day, Aoi-san," she said, and Noriko frowned at the expression on her face.

It was a smile, but it wasn't one she'd ever seen on Shimako. Shimako's smile was warm, charming, and just a little bit shy, and her lips would twitch up slightly on either corner. But most of the smile was in her eyes and the way they twinkled with the smallest touch of amusement that Noriko had come to love. She'd thought before that it was impossible to separate the two. Now, however, it seemed as if she was witnessing just such a phenomenon. It seemed like a completely different smile- it was hardly a smile at all, but upon deeper inspection, Noriko realized that Shimako's mouth had taken on the correct position. It was her eyes that weren't shining.

It was, overall, a rather disarming experience.

"Noriko?" Noriko snapped out of her thoughts as Shimako turned to her, seemingly dismissing Minami.

"Onee-sama?"

Shimako opened her mouth as if to say something, then paused, her lips still slightly parted as if she were thinking of how to say her next words. "I'd like to talk to you after the meeting today," she said after a moment. Noriko frowned, sitting back just a tiny bit. The words weren't outwardly unfriendly, but there was something that _wasn't _there that normally was. Her words were soft, but they seemed to be lacking the gentleness that Noriko usually associated with her beautiful onee-sama.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that- judging by the look in Shimako's eyes, this meeting was going to be very personal, and Noriko wasn't prepared to face the consequences of her emotions just yet. "Ano…," she began, eyes darting to the redhead who had remained remarkably silent for the entire exchange. "I can't today, onee-sama…my grandfather is visiting and my aunt wants me to greet him at the airport with her."

It wasn't a lie, but Noriko was sure her aunt would have understood if she said she couldn't come. Watching Shimako's reaction, Noriko immediately wished she could take back her words. The older girl's brow furrowed in confusion, her eyes widening slightly- she obviously hadn't expected to be turned down. It took her a moment to recover, but when she did, she managed a heartbreakingly sad smile. "Another day, then?" she asked- she was obviously not going to let Noriko weasel out of another confrontation.

Noriko nodded, unable to imagine making her onee-sama and secret love any more upset than she already had. "Of course, onee-sama," she said, hoping her voice didn't sound as shaky as she thought it did. She paused for a moment. "I'm sorry," she added guiltily, her eyes flickering to the ground. _Coward_.

This time, Shimako broke into one of her real smiles, her eyes softening infinitely as she brushed Noriko's bangs back just long enough to press a brief but firm kiss to her forehead. She pulled away slowly, as if she simply wanted to make the moment last, while Noriko sat there shell-shocked, unable to think of anything to say as Shimako returned to her full height. "Don't be sorry, Noriko," she said, her voice gentle once more as she gazed down at her petite soeur with unreadable gray eyes. She hesitated for a moment before her gaze turned to Minami. "Good day, Aoi-san," she said, her voice suddenly two degrees cooler, and her eyes regaining that same alarmingly lackluster tone. Shimako spared the redhead another almost-but-not-really smile before turning and leaving in the direction that she'd come.

Noriko blinked. She was pretty sure this was what jet lag felt like.

"Well didn't she seem pleased as punch," Minami murmured beside her with a trace of sarcasm. "I think I'm probably the only person in the world who's managed to piss of Rosa Gigantea."

"What are you talking about?" Noriko asked, having resurfaced. Her face, she assumed, was probably even redder than Yumi's the time that she thought Touko was taking Sachiko from her.

_What was _that_?_

Shimako had never been one for such obvious displays of affection, _especially _in public. A private smile, a brush of the hands…that's about as far as Noriko ever got.

"Have _you _ever heard her talk to anyone else like that?" Minami asked, standing and stretching as she prepared to go to her next class.

Noriko shrugged. "No, but she was already upset with me," she said, joining the redhead in a standing position and shifting her bookbag over her shoulder.

"She didn't talk to _you _like that, though," Minami said pointedly. Noriko only frowned at her in confusion, and the redhead growled in frustration. "It was just…nevermind," she sighed. "We're going to be late to class."

**PGBR**

Touko swung her feet just above the floor, her arms folded on top of the table and her chin resting on her loosely formed fist.

She was watching Yumi finish up her math homework at the last minute (really, she should get her priorities straight, Touko thought), her eyes periodically shifting to Sachiko, who was sitting beside Yumi, helping her with the more difficult problems. Trying not to dwell on the way her cousin's hand would brush Yumi's every so often, Touko was focusing on the various expressions flitting across her onee-sama's face at light speed, ranging from confused to contemplative to ecstatic when she came up with a particularly difficult solution.

"Yumi," Sachiko began, running her fingers gently through one of Yumi's pigtails while Touko seethed. "We're going to be late to class soon."

Yumi jumped, startled, and Touko couldn't help but giggle at her reaction while Sachiko smiled fondly at her petite soeur. "Oh, it's later than I thought it was," she said with a look that was so disheartened it should have been illegal. "You should have left- I don't want to make you two late."

Touko huffed, picking up her bag and rounding the table as she waited for Yumi to put her things away. "It doesn't matter to me," she said, turning away slightly to hide the pink tinge now apparent on her cheeks. "I wouldn't have waited if I had anything better to do."

Smiling at Touko's flustered expression, Yumi darted over and kissed her on the cheek before the younger girl could protest, linking their arms together and practically dragging an almost stupefied Touko out the door before the younger girl managed to collect herself. "W-what was that for?" she asked, a heavy blush adorning her cheeks even as she attempted to scowl. Behind them, Sachiko's eyes flashed dangerously, her jaw tense the way it always was whenever Sei would happen to pop around.

"Because Touko-chan's so cute," Yumi replied, turning to face her petite soeur with an irresistible little smile, "I couldn't help myself."

Touko was taken aback for a moment before she swallowed thickly and averted her eyes. "Onee-sama should learn to control her impulses," she mumbled in a half-hearted attempt to regain her composure, but she didn't shrug Yumi off- she didn't dare, not with Sachiko only meters away.

"Yes, Yumi," Sachiko agreed, coming up to walk on Yumi's other side. "Some people might get the wrong idea." With this statement she shot Touko a look that said it all: 'I know what you're feeling and I know what you're doing and you need to back down _now_.'

But Touko held her chin up defiantly, looping her arm through Yumi's once again and ignoring the icy glare her cousin was directing her way. "I wouldn't worry about that, onee-sama," Touko said, twirling around to face Yumi with her trademark smile in place, curls bouncing as she moved to keep up with her onee-sama. "Who cares what people think?"

Yumi smiled brightly and Sachiko's mood darkened further- this was exactly what Touko wanted. She knew Yumi couldn't resist that smile and the enthusiasm that Touko never seemed to have anymore these days. She shot her cousin another warning look, only to be met by a raised chin and a cheeky smirk.

Sachiko raised herself to her full height, meeting Touko's challenge with one of her own. Touko may have been a lonely child, but Yumi meant the world to her, and she wasn't prepared to give that all up to Touko.

_You want to challenge my place with _my _Yumi? _She thought as her eyes bored into those of her cousin.

_So be it, _Touko thought with a smirk that belied the very real fear she was feeling in her heart.

How could she even attempt to win Yumi from the one girl she was devoted to?

**DundunDUN! The Chinesis War begins, and what's up with Shimako?**


	5. Four: Inevitable

**Lunar Adept: I hope the eventual all-out will live up to your expectations! And I feel sorry for Shimako =P**

**Bumble Monkey: Well, the real confrontation won't be for a while longer, but I'll try to keep updating quickly!**

**Artistia: Thanks xP I was kind of thinking something like that might happen, but trying to remain optimistic xP I'm going to try and join clubs and hopefully get a job but I don't know what to do if I can't find one on campus =P**

**tears of the soul: Hopefully you'll see a bit more of Shimako during this chapter- I'm focusing on the white roses at the moment to leave for more Chinesis drama when the time comes.**

**Watashi No Meru: You'll just have to wait and see ;)**

**You'll have to forgive me if this chapter is absolutely horrible- angst isn't something I'm accustomed to writing particularly well, but I felt this needed to be written. Hopefully it turned out well, but if it didn't, I'm sorry =/**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Four: Prelude to the Inevitable Winter Trip**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

Fukuzawa Yumi was confused.

Pleasantly so, but still confused. It seemed that recently, both her soeurs were being more affectionate than usual, particularly when the other was around. At the moment, she was eating lunch in the Rose Mansion with her beloved onee-sama, feeling happier than she'd felt in months as Sachiko's long, narrow fingers played with her chestnut pigtails. She looked up and sent a dazzling smile at her onee-sama, never one to conceal her emotions, and was rewarded with a small, infinitely tender smile in return.

"Yumi," Sachiko murmured, her hand leaving Yumi's hair for a moment to retrieve her handkerchief. "Hold still." She sat with bated breath as her onee-sama wiped away a piece of rice that had clung to her upper lip.

"A-arigatou, onee-sama," Yumi said, her face flushing deeply. Sachiko was so close that her eyes laser focused on the deep blue irises before her- those same eyes that always said everything her onee-sama could not.

A door slamming behind them caused Yumi to jump about a foot in the air and Sachiko to glare at the cause of the disturbance. Touko flounced into the room, looking completely unfazed by her cousin's icy glare, and sat down in the chair next to Yumi, immediately scooting it over so that she was only inches away from her onee-sama. "Hi, onee-sama," she said with a brilliant smile.

Yumi felt her heart expand with happiness for her petite soeur's brightly smiling face. "Good day, Touko-chan," she said, returning the smile. Touko grinned even wider and leaned over, pecking her cheek before sitting back in her chair and pulling out her own bento, oblivious to the cold glare she was receiving from Sachiko. "T-Touko-chan?" Yumi asked, both shaken and confused by the sudden display of affection. "What was that for?"

Touko smiled up at her. "Can't a petite soeur kiss her onee-sama because she feels like it?" the drill-haired girl asked innocently.

On the other side of Yumi, Sachiko fumed inwardly, her knuckles growing white around her cup of tea. She knew this side of Touko all too well- what she didn't know was how to handle it when Touko was being serious about something. Too many times, she had dealt with her cousin when she wore this same expression, when Touko was using her acting skills to manipulate and confuse. But this time, she knew, Touko was allowing her true self to show through because she knew that the only thing she could fight Sachiko with was everything Sachiko wasn't.

Rosa Chinesis forced herself to sit back and look on as Touko shamelessly displayed her affection for her beloved petite soeur, knowing that she had no defense until she'd found Touko's weakness.

But it did ache, knowing that however this turned out, either her or her secretly not-so-evil little cousin was going to get hurt.

**PGBR**

There was nothing quite like faking a smile when all you wanted to do was be selfish and demand that the object of your affections pay attention only to you.

Touko knew this, but she also knew that doing such a thing would be childish and unhelpful to her current ploy. Therefore, she commanded Yumi's attention in a different way, forever watching Sachiko with a smirk in her eye: look at me now, watch me steal her away while you sit back and do nothing because saying something about it would be _unladylike_.

She would not sit back and watch Sachiko effortlessly win Yumi's heart- she would not allow her love to be stolen away, especially knowing that Sachiko could never give Yumi what she deserved. Sachiko would never go against her family, while Touko had nothing to fight against. Touko would not allow both her and her love's hearts to be broken for the sake of Sachiko's selfishness- for her pride.

And yet…she saw the sadness behind the frost in Sachiko's eyes, and she missed her cousin terribly. But Touko had never had a single, solitary thing to hold on to- nothing she could love and expect to be loved in return. Even as a child, a particularly disgruntled servant had found out about the stray kitten she'd kept in secret, and when she'd looked the next day, it was gone.

Gone- everything was always _gone_.

Touko felt tears stab at the edges of her eyes and blinked furiously, forcing herself to keep up the pretty little façade she'd painted. Never had she wanted (needed) anything as much as she did Yumi. Never had she been so afraid of losing something, and Yumi was never even hers to begin with.

No, even though she loved Sachiko dearly for everything she'd done for her, for every second of her time she'd given the family stray, she couldn't allow her this happiness for the sake of her own.

It was funny, how you forgot how much it hurt to fake a smile after faking one your whole life until you suddenly had to do it again.

**PGBR**

"I told you so," Touko said with a satisfied smirk as she leaned back in her chair before the meeting began, eyes glinting with amusement at Noriko's sullen expression. "Hanging out with Minami-sama is just going to make it harder for you to keep your distance from Shimako-sama. You say she kissed you and then shifted back to that cold thing she was doing before?"

Noriko rolled her eyes. "I don't even know what happened back there," she said. "And quit talking to me like you're in a different situation!"

"At least _I'm _doing something about it," Touko said with a grin, happy she was finally able to say those words. She'd managed to pull herself out of the small depression she'd slipped into that morning- teasing Noriko never hurt, either. "And I think it sounds pretty deliberate, what Shimako-sama did. Don't you think it's kind of…strange that she did that right after acting so cold to Minami-sama?" Touko raised her eyebrows, smirking like she knew something.

"No, I don't," Noriko groaned, turning away from Touko and effectively ending their conversation. "When Sachiko-sama kills you, don't expect me to cry at your funeral." Touko just grinned and turned back to face her onee-sama along with the rest of the Yamayurikai who were just entering the room. Sighing, Noriko turned to the right and stared out the window, her mind clouding over in thought.

She didn't know what to think these days- half of the time Shimako would be her usual, soft-spoken self, while the other half of the time she'd be fixing Noriko with that hurt look and freezing over whenever Noriko mentioned spending time with upperclassmen. The only thing that could possibly make this situation more awkward was-

"So the preparations for the winter trip are in order?" Rei asked of Sachiko, who had just finished her piece. Sachiko nodded, casually running a hand down Yumi's sleeve as she brought her hand to rest in her lap. Noriko would have laughed at the furious look on Touko's face if it hadn't been for the disturbing news that she'd just heard. "Right," the Yellow Rose stated, and stood up. "The Roses, being Sachiko-san, Shimako-san and myself have been organizing a winter trip for the Yamayurikai to a cabin owned by the Ogasawara group up in the mountains to reward you all for your hard work. We will be leaving Wednesday of next week, so please talk with your parents and make sure they are okay with you coming, and make sure that you are prepared by that time."

Noriko glanced over at Touko with wide eyes, but the drill-haired girl looked just as shell-shocked as she did, undoubtedly going through all the possibilities in her head. It was almost funny, how Touko appeared to be doing a 'Yumi'- every expression told Noriko exactly what she was thinking, the most obvious by far being when an absolutely mortified look spread over her features. Touko was undoubtedly realizing the possibility of having to share a room with Yumi or worse- Yumi sharing a room with Sachiko.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Yoshino was grinning like an escaped madman, no doubt thinking along the same lines as Touko in regards to her own situation. Her eyes flashed. _Chance…_

Noriko's own reaction was far more subdued, or so she hoped. She deliberately avoided the gaze of her own onee-sama, though she could feel that Shimako was reading her for some kind of reaction. _Of all the times for a trip… _

Deciding that thinking about it would only stress her out more, Noriko thought back to Touko's words. The kiss had been unexpected, yes, but it can't have been anything more than a display of concern. What Touko was trying to imply was just…it was something she'd expect from Sachiko, not Shimako. That was it- all the fighting over Yumi had gone to Touko's head.

"Noriko?"

Noriko started- there it was again, that sweet, innocent voice, just calling her name, but asking so much more. "Yes, onee-sama?" she asked, turning to face Shimako for the first time in what felt like forever. She frowned when she noticed the sadness in her onee-sama's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Perhaps I should be asking you that," Shimako replied with a small smile. She reached out to touch Noriko's hand- not expecting it, Noriko jerked back a second before she realized her mistake. There was a small gasp, and Shimako's eyes flickered up to meet her own, and the amount of hurt Noriko saw in them was enough to break her heart.

"Onee-sama…," she began, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out what to say, at least under her breath, as Rei was still speaking. So she bit her lip and tried to convey her apology through her eyes, but Shimako was staring down at her tea. _Wonderful._

The meeting ended soon afterwards, and soon enough the two white roses were alone in the room. Noriko couldn't bring herself to leave her onee-sama looking so upset, especially not when she herself was the reason. "Onee-sama…"

"Have I done something to upset you, Noriko?" Shimako's voice was faint, and a bolt of panic shot through Noriko's chest when she realized that her onee-sama was obviously fighting tears. "Because if I have, I'd much rather you talk to me about it than…" She trailed off, finally looking up to meet Noriko's eyes, her own eyes taking on a watery pink hue that made the younger girl's heart sink. Biting her lip, Shimako averted her eyes again, either not wanting to continue or not wanting to say what she'd been about to.

"No," Noriko said once she realized her onee-sama wasn't going to say anything else. She turned in her chair and reached for Shimako's hand, her heart giving a traitorous thud when the brunette flipped her hand over to squeeze it tightly. "No, onee-sama…it's just some…stupid…thing I'm trying to get through. I just didn't want to bother you with it."

A cross between a sniff and a sob came from Shimako as the older girl tried desperately to maintain her composure. "And you'd rather go to _her _than me?" Shimako's voice trembled with rare emotion as she emphasized the 'her' in her question.

Noriko's eyes widened comically- Touko had been right. "I…" She cursed herself for not knowing what to say. Because she _would _rather go to Minami, if only because she didn't stand the very real chance of losing the one she loved more than anything if she did. Backed up against a wall, a glimmer of Noriko's playful personality rose to the surface to aid her. "Only because I don't care if I get on her nerves," she said with a sad attempt at a smile.

Shimako's lips twitched as if she were trying to smile, but couldn't quite make it. They sat in silence for a moment, Noriko waiting for her reply with bated breath. "Anything that's troubling you couldn't possibly get on my nerves," she finally said, her thumb stroking the back of Noriko's hand subconsciously. "I…I feel like I'm losing you, Noriko," she admitted, and the younger girl felt the unmistakable sensation of a tear dripping onto the back of her hand. "If you'd rather confide in her…if you'd rather spend your time with her…"

Finally, it struck Noriko like a slap to the face. She couldn't believe she called Yumi dense when it took her so long to realize that her own onee-sama was jealous of the relationship that she had with Minami, especially with all of Touko's blatant hinting. It wasn't like Shimako at all, but she'd never seen her onee-sama so upset, had she? In truth, she had no idea whether Shimako was bothered by the amount of time she spent with her other senpai.

Another choked sob snapped Noriko back to the present, and she realized that she hadn't said anything since Shimako's confession. "N-no! That's not it!" she yelped, becoming increasingly flustered. But Shimako _had _to know that it wasn't true. "That's not it at all, Shimako-san!"

The brunette's head jerked up at the sudden outburst, and Noriko, for what felt like the hundredth time, realized her mistake a second too late. _Can't I do anything right today? _But to her surprise (and relief), Shimako broke into a feeble smile. "You haven't called me that in a long time," she said quietly, finally looking Noriko in the eye.

"Hehe…" Noriko rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Not since the incident with Sachiko-sama, no… I'm sorry, it just kind of slipped out."

Shimako smiled a real smile for the first time that day, her eyes softening, and Noriko felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. "Don't be sorry," she said, her hand still grasping Noriko's tightly. Long, slender fingers traced their way up to Noriko's wrist, where the cold, metal rosary was looped tightly around her skin. "As long as you don't want to return it…"

"No!" Noriko cried again, jumping up from her seat this time, her eyes wide. Shimako looked up at her with a smile, and Noriko was beyond relieved that the tears had begun to dry. "No…it's nothing, really."

Shimako stood as well, leaving only several inches between them. "Then can you tell me?" she asked softly, placing her hand on Noriko's shoulder and running her thumb over the fabric there.

Noriko sucked in a sharp breath- of course, her onee-sama _would _be the only one capable of tormenting her so when she had no idea of what her actions made her petite soeur feel. "It's…" _not important_, but that would only hurt her more. Shimako wasn't stupid. "I can't tell you," Noriko said resignedly, quickly raising her hand up to hold her onee-sama's in place, "not yet. But I promise I will when I'm ready?" It came out as more of a question than a statement as Noriko looked up at Shimako from under her bangs with a tentative smile.

Shimako hesitated for a moment, her tongue darting out between her lips in thought, causing Noriko to have to physically refrain from kissing her right then and there. "Okay," she said as a smile slowly crept across her features. Noriko sighed, relieved. "But Noriko," she began, firmly this time, "I want you to tell me if there's something bothering you. I don't want you to…to feel like you can't come to me with anything." She stumbled slightly with her phrasing, her cheeks developing a barely-there pink hue.

"I promise," Noriko stated decisively. And then, in a softer tone, "I'm sorry." She reached up and brushed the last of Shimako's tears away with her thumb, gasping in surprise when the lovely brunette looped her arms around her waist, seamlessly closing the distance between them. Noriko didn't hesitate to return the embrace, her arms instinctively winding around Shimako's shoulders, though the logical side of her mind was completely gone by this point and her heart felt like it was running in circles, making it hard for her to breathe. She buried her face into Shimako's shoulder, reveling in the sweet scent of her onee-sama, milking the moment for all it was worth. Her hands tightened unconsciously on Shimako's slender shoulders as time seemed to slow for them.

Gradually, Shimako pulled away, meeting Noriko's hesitant gaze with a warm smile of her own before slipping her hand down and intertwining their fingers. "You're going to miss your bus if we stay here much longer," she said, squeezing Noriko's hand gently before leading them both out of the room.

Noriko bit back a sigh as she followed her onee-sama. It just wasn't fair. How was she supposed to get over Shimako when doing so would hurt her so much?

**I hope I didn't go too overboard with Shimako…I tried to keep her as in character as possible.**


	6. Five: It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride

**I got my room assignment guys! They even assigned down to the correct bedroom, so I know who my roommate's gonna be. But I'm gonna wait till she contacts me cuz that's just how I am xP**

**Also: More Touko-angst in this chapter, and I apologize for those of you who don't like it, but I really think this is something how it would go if Touko ever did realize her feelings for Yumi (cuz I really think she does like Yumi, even in canon).**

**Watashi No Meru: Thank you! I actually just rewatched the episode sequence where Shimako's going through her lonely phase and I just fell in love with her and Noriko again for that reason.**

**Hyoyeong: I figure it isn't too out there that she'd drive Sachiko to killing her xD And I'm glad you're liking both pairings =) There's been a lot of Gigantea for the time being, but hopefully the focus will be more on Chinesis for the trip. And thanks- I didn't think Shimako would be the type to pull a Sachiko and just get really mad that her soeur was spending a lot of time with someone else. I figured she'd be more subtle.**

**tears of the soul: Yes, she just has no clue why Noriko is pulling away from her.**

**Bumble Monkey: I think so too =3 **

**KoSSa: Thank you for your review! I understand your point completely- I see a lot of great plots just to click on the story and have it be entirely unreadable. I have been posting on FFn for quite a while, but I assume you could also be referring to age? About Sachiko, I'm currently trying to figure it out…it's very hard to write both her and Touko and capture both personalities, as one main pairing is Yumi/Touko. It's just about as hard as trying to imagine a way for Yumi to choose Touko over Sachiko, because we all know how devoted she is. And I really hope I'll be able to give her a happy ending, it's just very difficult to think of one (outside of a Chinesis threesome xD), because I really do like her. It's not common for me to like the character that comes between my main pairings (ex. YayaXTsubomi, I don't like Hikari ((but who does?))), but even as I'm rewatching Marimite (because it suddenly reappeared on YouTube! =D), I can't bring myself to want to let her be unhappy. Either way, I'll do my best!**

**Honulicious: I actually think of it the other way around… I just think Touko would be able to give her more. But it's a matter of opinion, hmm? =) Maybe I just feel sorry for Touko because of having lost everything she's ever cared about…anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed my fic =)**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Five: It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride…**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

"And what did I tell you?" Touko asked with a knowing grin as she turned in her seat to face Noriko. "She was totally staking a claim on you that day with Minami-sama!"

Noriko flushed crimson. "Shut up," she muttered as Touko giggled maniacally. "You've been spending too much time around Sachik0-sama. I think I like you better when you're all depressed."

Touko smirked before her face turned somewhat serious. "So what do you think of this trip?" she asked, kicking at the floor.

Taking in the brunette's somber demeanor, Noriko's lips curled into a subtle smile. "A better question would be," she began, "what do _you _think of it? At least I know that I won't have to fight to stay with onee-sama if we end up having to share rooms."

A low growl rumbled from Touko's chest, causing Noriko to laugh. The drill-haired girl huffed, folding her arms over her chest and sticking her chin up in the air. "It's not funny," she said sharply. "If onee-sama shares a room with Sachiko-sama…this could be the time she chooses to act on her feelings. And then…"

"And then where would you be?" Noriko finished for her. "Honestly, I'm worried about the opposite- after what happened last week with onee-sama, I can hardly look her in the eye. If we end up having to share rooms, I don't know what I'll do."

"I don't know why you're taking so long," Touko stated nonchalantly. "I mean, it's not like you have to fight for your love like I do." She flipped her hair with one hand and flashed her friend a winning grin.

"You're so dramatic, Touko," Noriko stated dryly, her chin resting in the palm of her hand as she stared out of the frosty window.

"But it's just a hard, isn't it?" Noriko glanced up, surprised to see a suddenly somber Touko staring down at her shoes. "Being around them, I mean. I…I don't know why I even bother trying to fight Sachiko-sama for onee-sama anymore. It's so obvious that she loves her with all her heart, and even though it seems like there's room for everyone in there, she can't possibly be in love with anyone else…especially someone like me. I know what everyone thinks of me, you know. I know they think I'm a nuisance, that I'm just in the way of Sachiko and onee-sama." Touko looked tiny in that moment, her eyes wet, and she looked dangerously close to tears. "And I didn't care what they thought, but…is there really any point in trying at all? I see the way they look at each other. I'm not blind."

Noriko reached over and squeezed Touko's hand- the drill-haired girl didn't look up from the floor, afraid she'd lose herself and the first tear would fall, and that she wouldn't be able to stop them after that. "You're not Sachiko-sama," she said finally, her heart going out to Touko when the brunette flinched at the words. "You're Touko-chan. And just that gives you an advantage over Rosa Chinesis- yes, Yumi-sama loves Sachiko-sama, but do you really think she'd be happy? For a short time, yes, but for life? Do you really think someone like Yumi-sama would be happy with being the other partner? Because we both know Sachiko-sama isn't ready to go against her family. And you could give her so much more, Touko. You just have to show her that."

Touko sniffed wetly, breaking the contact to brush the sleeve of her uniform over her eyes to make sure no stray tears had fallen. "How are you always so good at giving me advice, but are so hopeless in your own situation?" she asked with a trace of a teasing smile. Noriko rolled her eyes.

"Even though our situations are similar, they're not the same," she said after a moment. "Yumi-sama loves Sachiko-sama, so at least you know that she be disgusted by your feelings. She wouldn't leave you."

"And you think Shimako-sama will."

Noriko shrugged, leaning back in her chair. "I used to, but recently it's like she's doing everything she can to hold onto me," she said with the faintest traces of a blush. "It's flattering, but…not what I'm looking for."

"Well," Touko said, raising a finger and pointing to her meaningfully, "this trip might be just the chance you need, so don't pass it up."

"I could say the same to you," Noriko muttered. "What's with that attitude?"

**PGBR**

The next morning, both Noriko and Touko found themselves seated at a bus station that ran up to the general area where Sachiko's cabin was located. Neither could do much more than keep their eyes open, having had to wake up two hours early, and having had almost no sleep the night before because their nerves had been running haywire. And now they were the first to arrive besides Yoshino and Rei, who were arguing over something about Yoshino being irrationally jealous again.

"Those two give me a headache," Touko muttered, yawning widely and leaning over, her head coming to rest against the equally tired Noriko's. "How can they be at it so early in the morning?"

"I don't think Yoshino-sama ever runs out of energy," Noriko replied. She'd rather be resting against her onee-sama, as she was sure Touko would as well, but it was nice to have a best friend on these occasions. "Even at…" She glanced down at her watch. "Five-thirty in the morning. You know, you should probably rest as much as you can now."

Touko frowned slightly. "I was going to do that anyway," she stated hesitantly. "But why would you say that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Noriko replied, amazed that Touko hadn't thought of it herself. "Sachiko-sama gets sick on long trips, right? It's going to take us at least three hours to get up there, and doesn't she generally use some kind of medicine to help her sleep through car trips?"

"Mhmm," Touko murmured, waiting for Noriko to get to the point, too tired to complain about the stalling. "What of it?"

"Well, that means she can't be a very good pillow for Yumi-sama, right?"

Touko instantly sat up straighter, causing her to hit Noriko's head rather hard. The other girl moaned quietly, head in her hands as she bent over, trying to rub away both the outer and inner pain. "You mean onee-sama might want to sleep on my shoulder?" she asked, suddenly full of energy, unlike her pained companion. "But how will I make sure she does?"

"Don't let her sit by the window?" Noriko grunted, too tired to put up with Touko's dramatics so early. "I don't know. Figure something out. I've got better things to worry about."

"Noriko?"

Noriko almost purred at the feeling of Shimako's gentle hand pressed against her aching forehead, but managed to catch herself just in time. "Mornin' onee-sama," she slurred, because despite her increased heart rate, she did not share Touko's ability to go from zero to sixty in one second flat. She groaned inwardly as she felt Shimako sit down beside her- since the others would be arriving shortly and the bench itself was rather small, her onee-sama was obviously trying to conserve space. Unfortunately, the feeling of Shimako pressed so close to her gave Noriko the irresistible urge to wrap her arms around her and fall asleep on her shoulder like she was a giant teddy bear. Which would most likely shock the living daylights out of Shimako. She sighed- she couldn't help it. It was just how she was so early in the morning.

"Good morning," Shimako replied with a sweet smile, bending over to match her petite soeur's posture. "Are you tired?"

"Not at all!" Noriko announced, sitting up quickly and shooting her onee-sama a wide smile that was laced with dry humor. Shimako smiled sympathetically and brushed Noriko's hair behind her ear.

"You can sleep on the way up," she said. "If you fell asleep here, it would only make it worse when you had to get up to board the bus."

"Haaai," Noriko mumbled, her head dropping unceremoniously onto Shimako's shoulder despite all attempts to do otherwise. However, the brunette only leaned back and ran her fingers absentmindedly through her hair, sending waves of pleasure down Noriko's tired body.

Yumi arrived several minutes later, stumbling into the space next to Touko, breathing hard. "Am I late?" she asked worriedly, completely overlooking the fact that, had she been late, nobody would have been there. Touko smiled fondly before inevitably bursting Yumi's bubble.

"Maybe if onee-sama didn't leave her packing until the last minute, she wouldn't have to worry about such things," Touko said, her eyes flashing playfully.

"Touko-chaaan," Yumi whined, causing Touko to wonder who the real onee-sama was before a smile crept onto her face. She didn't mind taking care of Yumi- in fact, there wasn't much she liked more. "It's so early…"

"Hai," Touko stated, carefully observing Yumi for any signs of tiredness and feeling pleased when her onee-sama yawned widely in a way that Sachiko would have balked at. At least her plan was still a go. "You should have gone to bed earlier, onee-sama," Touko chided, her cheeks slightly pink as she folded her arms over her chest. She was always embarrassed to show too much concern, especially for Yumi.

A few feet away, Noriko let out a highly unladylike snort. "You're one to talk," she muttered. Touko sent her a death glare, her eyes flickering to the Rosa Gigantea for only a second before they rested on the black-haired girl. _Rat on me and I'll do the same. _Noriko huffed and turned back to her own onee-sama.

Touko smirked and leaned back against the metal bench, her cheeks reddening profusely when she felt Yumi's weight against her shoulder. "Oh, sorry, Touko-chan," the older girl said, swaying slightly in her seat. "You're probably right…"

Touko let out a long suffering sigh. "Of course I'm right," she said huffily. "It's probably pointless for you to sit up, since you're just going to fall asleep anyway." She cringed- and she called herself an actress? Luckily for her, Yumi wasn't highly perceptive _awake_, and her senses were significantly lessened so early in the morning. All Touko got in response was a sleepy smile and the weight against her shoulder restored.

It was perfect- for about five minutes, at least.

Touko felt the icy glare before she actually saw her cousin standing beside her. She turned to find Sachiko glaring down at the scene, her knuckles white around her bag. "Yumi," Sachiko said sharply, forcing her petite soeur to attention…somewhat. Yumi blinked wearily up at Sachiko, who sighed with just the smallest traces of a smile teasing at the corners of her lips. "I told you to get a good night's sleep, Yumi," she murmured fondly, taking a seat on the other side of Yumi and smiling as the pigtailed girl effortlessly shifted her weight into the older girl's open arms.

Touko felt that same sick, burning sensation welling up in the pit of her stomach once again- it couldn't be healthy to feel this way so often. Hot tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, her arms crossed tightly, protectively over her chest. She turned away from the scene only to face the white rose sisters- Noriko was fighting to stay awake while Shimako ran a gentle hand down her arm, and the acidic feeling only increased. How dare Noriko compare their situations? Whether Shimako returned her feelings or not, there was only one person in those gray eyes, and that was Noriko. Noriko never had to feel overshadowed by what had to be the biggest shadow of all. Noriko never had to feel what it was like to watch the person you loved more than anything else love another with all their heart.

She gritted her teeth, blinking back the tears. No. She had to stop thinking like that. She had to fight this- had to fight _Sachiko_.

The bus arrived with an earsplitting squeal, forcing Noriko into a temporary state of wakefulness, at least long enough for Shimako to guide her into the bus. The yellow rose sisters followed behind them, with Touko, Yumi and Sachiko bringing up the rear. As soon as Touko stepped into the bus, her heart sunk- the seats were arranged in rows of two all the way down on both sides. Shimako and Noriko were already making themselves as comfortable as they could get- or at least, Noriko had slumped into the window seat with Shimako slipping in beside her, worriedly trying to rearrange her petite soeur before she woke up with bad neck pains.

One glance at Sachiko told Touko that her cousin was thinking along those same lines, and Touko did the only thing she knew how. Calling upon her acting skills, she allowed Sachiko and Yumi to walk ahead of her before sitting down in an empty seat by herself, her arms folded tightly over her chest, looking angrily out the window. Yumi stopped in her tracks even as Sachiko slid into a seat several rows down, staring worriedly at her petite soeur. A smirk appeared on Touko's face, though the young girl's heart was aching on the inside. Why did she always have to go to such extreme measures to get her own onee-sama's attention when it was offered to her cousin so freely? It simply wasn't fair, and it only hurt all the more when she added her feelings into the mix.

"Yumi?"

Touko's smirk quickly became a scowl at the sound of her cousin's voice. "Yes, onee-sama?" she heard Yumi reply, and she could just imagine the bright, innocent smile lighting up her face. And all for Sachiko. Touko huffed, though no one was near enough to hear her.

"Come sit down," she heard Sachiko say in the voice that Yumi couldn't resist. She felt Yumi's eyes on the back of her head and forced herself to continue to stare out the window. It shouldn't be so hard for her to choose- she shouldn't have to force herself to choose between them.

"Touko-chan…"

"Go sit by her, then," Touko spat, instantly scolding herself for her harsh tone. If Yumi hadn't noticed anything wrong by now… But she hated it, this constant, burning ache that lined the pit of her stomach and the edges of her heart. She was so horribly jealous of the girl she'd once held closer than anything that it physically ached. "It's not like it matters to me. Go to her."

As everyone who's ever been a teenage girl knows, one only says such things when one wants said person to choose them over the other person, and that it's anything but okay if said person actually takes said advice and sits beside that other person.

Though she may have been slightly dense, Yumi knew this rule well, though it wasn't an approach she herself would have ever taken. With an apologetic glance to her onee-sama, she slid into the seat beside her sulking petite soeur. "Touko-chan…"

"What?" Touko snapped, finally turning to face her, her eyes narrowed, though if one looked closely enough, one could see just how close the poor girl was to tears. "You keep calling my name- what do you want? Didn't I tell you to go sit by her?" She turned back to the window before she could do anything stupider, like confess her feelings on the spot. "Mou," she mumbled under her breath, "you never listen."

Yumi looked at her petite soeur with worried eyes. "Touko-chan…" she began for a third time, pausing to make sure the younger girl wasn't going to interrupt again, "I want to sit here. With you." Yumi reached over and squeezed her hand gently, much like Noriko had the day before.

_Well I don't want your pity_. "Well I don't want you here," Touko replied coldly, deliberately avoiding Noriko's questioning gaze from a few seats ahead. "So you might as well go sit with her."

Yumi hesitated for a moment. "If you're sure…" Touko huffed, her arms still crossed over her chest. Sighing, the older girl stood and walked over to take a seat by Sachiko, oblivious to the tracks of tears that were now making their way down Touko's cheeks.

_I thought I'd be happy if she sat by me, no matter what- if she only chose me over Sachiko-sama, for whatever reason. But it's not enough- I want her to _want _me, too._

**PGBR**

Sachiko glanced down at her subdued petite soeur, shooting her cousin a quick glare for upsetting her so much. She instantly regretted it when Touko glared back with tearstained cheeks and red, watery eyes, but didn't let her emotions get the better of her, instead turning her attention to Yumi.

"I thought…I thought we were better," Yumi said softly, playing with one of the strings on her hoodie. "I thought she was really starting to like me, and now it's like she's pushing me away more than ever."

Wrapping an arm around Yumi, Sachiko wished she could do more to cheer up her petite soeur without revealing both their secrets. _You're so innocent, Yumi…it's because she likes you so much that she's pushing you away… _

**PGBR**

Noriko sighed heavily, leaning back in her seat and staring out the window, unaware that her own onee-sama was watching her in concern. Finally turning, she noted Shimako's worried expression and gave a small smile. "Don't worry about me," she said, her smile growing as a small blush formed over Shimako's cheeks. "I'm just concerned about Touko, is all."

"Hmm…" Shimako hummed, staring straight ahead of her. "I have a feeling that the Chinesis family is going to have an interesting time on this trip," she murmured, smiling at Noriko when the younger girl looked up at her in confusion. "Yumi-san is going to have to make a choice, isn't she?"

"H-how did you know, onee-sama?" Noriko stuttered, her eyes wide. If Shimako knew about Touko, then…

Shimako smiled sadly. "It's written all over their faces," she said softly, referring to Sachiko and Touko. "They both love her so much that they can't simply let her go, even if it is for her own happiness. This is going to be hard on Yumi-san."

"Hard on Yumi-sama?" Noriko asked in an incredulous tone. "How can it be hard on Yumi-sama, when Touko's heart breaks every time she sees them together?"

"Noriko," Shimako murmured, running a hand through Noriko's hair before pulling her quite suddenly to lean against her. "Not everything is as simple as it seems on the surface. You cannot simply say that Yumi-san will choose Sachiko-sama inevitably. Touko-chan occupies a very real place in her heart, and I don't know if Yumi-san has started to realize it or not, but she may be developing some very real feelings for her."

Noriko scoffed. "She better not be," she muttered, cheeks flushed due to the sudden contact, as well as Shimako's fingers tracing up and down her arm. "If she's putting Touko through this for nothing…"

"I don't think Yumi-san would do that," Shimako said. "I think Yumi-san is too confused about her own feelings to read in too deeply on those of other people."

"It's not fair," Noriko muttered sullenly.

Shimako sighed, a sad smile on her lips. "Sometimes life isn't fair, Noriko," she said. "Sometimes, those we love do not love us back, and all we can do is smile for them and let them think that everything is alright, because it would hurt them if we didn't." Noriko glanced up at Shimako, noting the unreadable look in her eyes.

"Well, how do you know if they don't return your feelings until you try?" she asked, thinking this was obvious. "It takes courage, but it's not fair to you if you don't give yourself a chance."

"You're a braver person than I am, then, Noriko."

Noriko frowned at her phrasing and looked up at her onee-sama, trying to read her eyes, but they were exceptionally cloudy that day. "Are you in love, onee-sama?"

"I wonder," Shimako murmured, staring straight ahead, a far off look in her eyes, her fingers pausing in their dance down Noriko's arm.

**Well, the trip is officially going to begin next chapter, and it will probably focus more on the Chinesis family.**


	7. Six: Chances

**Watashi No Meru: Thank you! I'm showing a bit more of Shimako's perspective, and hopefully I'm doing it realistically.**

**Artistia: You're absolutely right- that's what I've been trying to show, and I'm glad you picked up on it =) I figured Noriko would be a bit more naïve about it and need Shimako to explain. About the whole Chinesis drama, I can't promise that no one will end up hurt (including Yumi), but that's just how these things work. I can promise that no one will be showed in a significantly better light than the other, with the exception of possibly Yumi. One has to keep in mind that this is teen love, and it's not always pretty…at least, I don't imagine it as such. I've read some opinions that if it isn't all rainbows and butterflies and if one person tries to run away from their feelings for even a moment, it isn't true love. I don't believe in that. So I just hope that I'll be able to portray it realistically without going too far.**

**Lunar Adept: I copy loud and clear, and I hope your trench can sustain more damage, because it's going to get worse when it all goes down =(**

**Bumble Monkey: Yep, that's how I always perceived her character. I figured she should have an onee-sama moment with the sometimes hard-headed Noriko. **

**tears of the soul: I feel bad for Touko =( This is just how I see her reacting if she realized feelings for Yumi. She doesn't strike me as the type to really hold back, but I don't think she'd be extremely upfront about it either. Tsundere types tend to kill themselves trying to get through being in love. And hopefully what I'm doing with Shimako will become a little clearer in this next chapter =)**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Six: Chances**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

"_Noriko…"_

"Noriko!"

Noriko jerked awake, blinking as a headache set it rapidly from the bright light that was hidden behind the gray clouds. She frowned- it looked cold outside, and she knew the busses were air-conditioned, so why…

Just as suddenly the answer hit her, and she pulled away from Shimako quickly only to find herself trapped by the loose yet firm grip of her onee-sama. "Onee-sama?" she asked, touching Shimako's hands with her own in case the older girl was unaware that she was still holding on.

Shimako glanced down and slowly released Noriko from her grip, smiling fondly at her weary soeur. "Sorry, Noriko," she said, "I just didn't want you to hit your head on the window." She leaned over and kissed Noriko's cheek before sliding out of her seat gracefully. "We're here."

"We…" Noriko blinked, trying to take in all the information that had been thrown at her in the past minute. She had fallen asleep against Shimako…Shimako was holding her, even after she awoke…and then… Noriko raised a hand up to her cheek that was still tingling with the sensation of her onee-sama's soft lips. "Here?" she asked, looking up at Shimako with wide eyes.

The brunette smiled, her eyes dancing as if she were trying not to laugh at her soeur's obvious confusion. "We're here," she confirmed, holding her hand out to help Noriko out of her seat. Blushing, Noriko took it and followed Shimako out with her suitcase in hand, turning back for a moment to meet Touko's gaze. But her friend wouldn't look at her- she was staring blankly out the window, the way she'd been doing before Noriko fell asleep. From off to the right, Yumi was biting her lip, watching her petite soeur with obvious worry.

Yumi was still in deep thought when a sudden weight landed on her back, causing her to cry out and stumble. Reflexively, she called out the name she'd come to associate with the action. "S-Sei-sama!"

"Yep, yep, Yu-mi-chan," Sei said with a toothy grin, clinging to the younger girl, apparently oblivious to the daggers being glared at her by the two remaining members of the Chinesis family. "Miss me?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Ara, how rude," a voice off to the side murmured rather distantly. Behind Sei stood the previous Rosa Chinesis along with the previous Rosa Foetida. Eriko was the one who had spoken, and was smiling lazily with one hand pressed to her cheek. "And we only came to even out the numbers for you…"

Yoshino growled under her breath.

"So, so! Have you decided on room arrangements yet?" Sei asked as they entered the large cabin. It was built in an old, comfortable fashion, with lots of wooden furniture and a genuine fireplace. All the bedrooms were up the stairs. The roses looked around at each other- they hadn't known they would need to share until now. "Great! I call Yumi-chan!"

"NO!"

Sei laughed at the expressions on the faces of both Sachiko and Touko- Sachiko looked as if she might kill Sei in her sleep, while Touko seemed more like she would kill her the second she laid a finger on Yumi. In the end, though, it was Youko grabbing her ear and pulling that made her give up the teasing of the red roses. "Itai~! It hurts, Youko-chaaan!" With a smug smile, Youko let go of Sei's ear and sat down on the end of one of the couches. "Okay…Shimako, then!" Sei declared, not to be defeated for long as she startled her petite soeur by capturing her in an embrace similar to the ones she always used with Yumi.

She wasn't met by any outward resistance this time, but lifting her gaze from Shimako, she had a hard time not laughing at the enormous pout that the Rosa Gigantea en Bouton was wearing. "Ah, don't worry, Noriko-chan!" she exclaimed, letting go of Shimako and leaning over to ruffle Noriko's hair. "I won't steal your precious onee-sama from you!" Somehow Noriko managed to blush and pout sullenly at the same time.

"Really, onee-sama," Shimako said with a sigh, moving to sit next to Noriko and casually placing a hand on her knee. Sei straightened, gazing down at her petite soeur with interest. This was new. It was obvious that they weren't in a relationship, but Shimako wasn't one to hand out physical affection casually.

Youko looked from Sachiko to Yumi to Touko. As much as she wanted to share a room with Sei, she knew that World War III was likely to break out if the three girls were left to their own devices. "Sachiko, would you share a room with me?" Youko asked sweetly. Sachiko turned to her with a pained expression, but the smile never faded from Youko's face. She didn't mind her petite soeur being so unwilling- the big picture was that Sachiko wouldn't deny her request as Touko would have, and that this solved the problem of the rooming arrangements.

"Of course, onee-sama," Sachiko said with a smile (because she was a lady, after all), though her voice was slightly defeated. From off to her right, Touko perked up and suddenly attached herself to a blushing Yumi's arm. Youko couldn't help but smile- the drill-haired girl could be the biggest nuisance, but she was irresistible when she was so happy.

Sei sighed. Even she knew better than to mess with Yoshino and her 'Rei-chan'. "Well, I guess that just leaves you and me, Dekochin," she said, looking over at Eriko, who didn't look too excited herself. "I suppose the situation is still salvageable- everyone can be turned, after all," she murmured under her breath, causing even the unshakeable Eriko to look slightly alarmed.

**PGBR**

Yumi bit her lip, glancing worriedly over at her petite soeur, who had taken on an unhealthy, pasty hue at the sight of the large, king-size bed in the center of the room. "Touko-chan?" she asked, walking over to the younger girl and taking her hand. Touko's eyes instantly shifted to her own, and Yumi blushed heavily- there was something about those eyes that made her feel like she was the center of the world whenever they rested on her. "Are you okay?"

"H-hai," Touko said. "Um…I'll just take the floor then…"

"Why?" Yumi asked, truly perplexed. "It's a huge bed, and what kind of onee-sama would I be if I let my cute little petite soeur sleep on the floor?"

Touko's cheeks darkened at the innocent words, and she aimed her gaze down at the floor out of embarrassment. "I suppose…if it's okay with you…"

"Of course it is!" Yumi declared with another one of her brilliant smiles. She ignored the slight twinge in her chest at Touko's obvious attempt to be chivalrous and leaned over, giving Touko a quick peck on the cheek before grabbing her pajamas and heading for the bathroom. "You don't mind if I shower, do you?"

"Uh…" Touko drew a blank for several seconds before she snapped out of it. _Baka! You're as bad as a teenage boy! _"No," she said, her cheeks still flushed. Thankfully, Yumi didn't waste any time in running into the bathroom and starting the water, allowing Touko time to collect herself.

The drill-haired girl looked wearily over at the bathroom door before letting out a dramatic sigh and flopping backwards on the bed, one arm thrust over her eyes. _I'm so screwed…_ After a few moments, a half-smile formed on her face as she imagined Noriko's reaction when she discovered the same thing. _But at least I'm not the only one. And I bet Shimako-sama is a cuddler._

**PGBR**

Touko wasn't too far off in her guess- Noriko had gone up to their room before Shimako had, and therefore had a bit more time to take everything in than the drill-haired girl had. Not like it was doing her much good.

First there were the tears, and then there was the kissing and increasing displays of affection, and now there was a bed. A bed. As in singular. Noriko didn't know how much more she could take before she exploded.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Noriko glanced up to see her onee-sama looking around the room, her suitcase in one hand. "Uh, yeah," she said, her eyes still focused entirely on Shimako. The brunette turned at her distant-sounding voice, and blushed prettily under Noriko's gaze. Flushing crimson, Noriko shook her head. "I mean…sorry. Yeah, it's really nice." She paused for a moment, looking down at the covers of the bed she was seated on. "Only…" She patted the bed for emphasis, eliciting a laugh from Shimako.

"I'm sure we'll make do," the brunette said with a kind smile, walking over to the empty side of the bed and setting her things down before joining Noriko on the mattress. "Sachiko-sama said it tends to get very cold at night."

Noriko smirked to disguise her nerves- everything was just falling into her lap now, it seemed. Noticing Shimako's curious gaze, she thought up a quick lie. "I was just thinking of Sachiko-sama," she said with a playful glint in her eye that Shimako had come to recognize and love. "I know she loves Youko-sama, but they never had the closest relationship, did they? Especially when you consider that three-quarters of the soeur relationships in the school are flimsy disguises for-" She cut herself off before she could give anything else away, hesitantly turning to Shimako only to find an amused smile dancing across her onee-sama's features. She sighed in relief. "Anyway, I'm sure Sachiko-sama was looking forward to her Yumi-cuddling time, and I doubt either of them are comfortable enough with each other to keep each other warm at night."

Shimako smiled gently, leaning back only inches from Noriko. "What about my onee-sama and Eriko-sama, then?" she asked, her tone soft, but Noriko could tell by the way her eyes sparkled that she was playing along.

"Well," Noriko began, "I get the disturbing feeling that Sei-sama wasn't kidding about turning her, and even if she was, she seems like the kind of person that you could sleep in different rooms of the house and still end up with her wrapped around you in the morning." Noriko shrugged. "Then again, I can see Eriko-sama chasing her down with a blunt metal object if she tried anything."

"It seems you have my onee-sama figured out," Shimako mused. "Though she's really only that way with Yumi-san."

"Not with you?" Noriko asked, unable to suppress the hint of jealousy in her voice. Shimako must have picked up on it, because she turned to her petite soeur with that same gentle smile and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Onee-sama and I have never had a close relationship," Shimako admitted. "It was fine, and it worked for both of us, but…" She covered Noriko's hand with her own, lacing their fingers together. "It was nowhere near as stable a relationship as the one we have."

"Geez," Noriko muttered, cheeks flushing for what must have been the hundredth time that day. "You make it sound like we're some married couple, and like she's your ex-wife or something."

Shimako stared at Noriko for all of ten seconds before she couldn't hold back her laughter any longer. Noriko grinned crookedly at the sight of her onee-sama so happy, content to sit back and watch the brunette laugh. "I suppose it's not so different, now that onee-sama is at University," Shimako noted lightly. "Our relationship is just about name-only at this point."

"Hmm," Noriko said, staring up at the ceiling. Maybe, if she kept herself as far to the edge of the bed as possible, she wouldn't wake up in a compromising position. Glancing at the old-fashioned clock on the wall, she noticed that it was only about noon. "There's not much to do up here, is there?" she asked.

"Sachiko-sama said there's a hot springs out behind the cabin," Shimako replied, "but maybe it would be best if you slept a little bit first." Her eyes lingered on her petite soeur for a moment before she looked away. "I don't want you to end up hurting yourself."

Noriko waved a hand in the air. "I'm tougher than that, onee-sama," she said with a grin, which faded slightly when Shimako's worried expression remained. "Seriously, I don't need to sleep. I'll just sleep tonight. If I try and sleep now, I'll never get to sleep when it's time to go to bed, and I'll keep you up all night. And you don't want that, do you?"

Shimako sighed, smiling fondly down at Noriko, and leaned over to press a kiss to her forehead. "I suppose I can't force you to sleep," she said, straightening Noriko's bangs tenderly.

"No…" Noriko frowned, sitting up straighter and causing Shimako's hand to fall back to her side. It was probably the stupidest thing she'd ever do, but she needed to clear this up. "Onee-sama," she began, turning to face Shimako, "is something wrong?"

Shimako frowned in confusion. "No," she said hesitantly. "Should there be?"

"It's just that you're a lot more…affectionate," Noriko blushed, "than usual." She stared down at her fingers that were pulling at each other- it was a nervous habit.

She felt the bed shift close to her, felt her onee-sama's arm brush against hers. "Does it bother you?" Shimako asked in a surprisingly small voice.

"W-what?" Noriko stuttered, her eyes widening comically as she fumbled for a way to salvage the situation. "Of course not! It's just…different, you know?"

Shimako looked over at her petite soeur, her lips curling into a gentle smile at Noriko's flustered expression. "I'm glad," she said, sitting up and taking a good look at the black-haired girl. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep?"

Noriko groaned and fell back against the pillows. "Might as well," she sighed. _If onee-sama keeps this up, I'm going to need it._

**PGBR**

"Mou, Sachiko," Youko murmured, her lips pouting, a smirk hidden behind her eyes, "if you keep pacing like that, I might think that you don't want to spend time with your onee-sama."

Sachiko sighed, turning her worried sapphire gaze onto Youko. "You and I both know that we'd rather be somewhere else right now, onee-sama," she said tiredly, finally sitting down on the large bed, her fingers massaging her temples. She didn't object when she felt her onee-sama's hands come to rest gently on her slender shoulders. "Touko is in love with Yumi."

"Is that all?" Youko asked. "I'm insulted that you would think I needed to be told that, Sachiko. Your onee-sama isn't blind," she said with a small smile when Sachiko turned to face her wearily. Her petite soeur knew her well enough to know that her innocence stopped at her eyes. "So why are you so restless, Sachiko?"

"Because I thought Touko would be the type to just…but it seems like she's doing everything she can to get closer to _my _Yumi." Sachiko huffed, her cold front belying the turmoil that brewed within her.

"My, my, Sachiko, don't you think you are being just a little bit unfair?" Youko asked, eyes sparkling. "Would you give up on Yumi-chan if she was already very close to someone else, even if you felt like you had no chance?" Sachiko opened her mouth to speak, but Youko cut her off. "No, you wouldn't. Because you hate to lose, Sachiko, and I doubt that Touko-chan is much different. Not only that, but this isn't just a competition to either of you. This is Yumi-chan, and from what I saw down in the sitting room, Touko-chan loves her just as much as you do."

Sachiko's hand curled into a fist in her lip, despite her onee-sama's steadying touch. "But…" She trailed off, her eyes betraying the many emotions that were swimming through her head. "But she was mine first. I found her _first_." Her voice was small, her brow furrowed as if she were confused by the fact that it wasn't so simple.

Youko smiled sadly at her petite soeur's skewed, childish view on the matter. Sachiko had never known any different, and she knew that this day would come, and that it would be a hard one for Sachiko to get through. "So you had a head start," she finally stated, knowing that it would be better to confront Sachiko with the cold hard facts. "You didn't expect that to give you the infinite and sole rights to Yumi-chan, did you? She isn't a toy, nor is she yours by default, Sachiko. What kind of onee-sama am I, if I didn't teach you that lesson?"

Blue eyes darkened with sadness as Sachiko realized the truth to her onee-sama's words. She loved Yumi, and she knew that Yumi loved her too, but could she really give Yumi everything that she needed? Could she possibly be better for Yumi than her mischievous cousin who'd allowed Yumi and only Yumi into her heart? She sighed, realizing that dwelling on that fact would do her no good here. After a moment of silence, she said, "I wonder how Eriko-sama is fairing with Sei-sama."

Youko smiled knowingly. "If Sei was serious about turning Eriko and manages to do so…" She smirked. "I think Sei's in for a long night."

Sachiko grimaced- unfortunately, having known the eccentric ex-yellow rose for two years, it was all too easy to imagine, and the image of an enthusiastic Eriko chasing Sei in nothing but her lingerie and heeled boots with a whip in her hand simply wouldn't disappear.

**I'm easing my way into the Chinesis drama to get more of Sachiko's perspective into the story before things explode, so everyone will have a chance to choose their side fairly. Just please keep in mind that when I do write the scene, I will want to make it as realistic as I can, which means that neither is going to be portrayed as more 'saint-like' than the other. It isn't going to be pretty, but it isn't going to be so very far out there that it hurts your eyes, like some fics I have read. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	8. Seven: This Time

**Honulicious: You just gave me the craziest idea! xD I was still trying to work out what I'd do with the odd Chinesis out, but I could only come up with them ending up alone. But I could always come up with a story about her and 'that one guy Eriko was in love with' breaking up…Huh. I always thought Eriko would make an interesting lesbian. That's definitely a possibility now! Anyway, I was just trying to determine Sei and Youko's relationship and how they would end up. And with Sachiko and Youko, I really just wanted to give Sachiko a moment in the spotlight to show that I'm really not trying to make her into a bad guy. And I kind of figured Sachiko might act a bit more openly around her onee-sama, so she was a useful plot device =)**

**Watashi No Meru: Thanks! I've been trying to get more of Shimako's perspective out into the open, as hopefully has become apparent. Sachiko's a bit harder, because her personality is very contradictory, and she tends to show her emotions as their opposites, if that makes any sense at all. Probably doesn't xD Hopefully it's obvious how Sachiko feels about Yumi, and I was thinking about putting out Shimako's POV pretty soon.**

**Bumble Monkey: Sei and Eriko was more of a comic pairing than anything, to lighten the plot a bit. It was also convenient, but thanks to a previous comment, I might have more use for the ex- Rosa Foetida yet…**

**tears of the soul: Thanks! I'm trying to get Shimako's perspective out a little more, so I'm glad it showed =)**

**Insomniac1970: Thanks! I'm almost positive there will be an explosion point at some point in the future, just due to both Sachiko and Touko's natures. Sachiko hates to lose, and Touko is extremely stubborn and possessive of the few things that are hers in the world. There's really no other option. And we all know that both Sachiko and Touko tend to speak first and regret later.**

**For Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Seven: This Time**

**Author: xXLiStLesSXx**

"Noriko, are you coming?"

Shimako slipped back into their shared room, her towel wrapped tightly around her body as she met the gaze of her petite soeur. Noriko's face instantly flushed, and the younger girl trained her gaze on a spot just in front of her on the bed. _Adorable… _"I'm actually kind of tired," she said. "Maybe I should just save the hot springs for tomorrow night."

Shimako frowned slightly- she just couldn't understand Noriko these days. Half the time, she'd give her every sign that she might like Shimako as more than just a soeur, and the other half, it seemed like she didn't want to be around her at all. "It would do you a lot of good to relax for a while, Noriko," she said, walking forward to sit down on the bed. Noriko scrambled back quickly, and Shimako tried her hardest to ignore the twitch of hurt in her chest, knowing how her heavily her sadness seemed to impact her normally headstrong petite soeur. _She's so cute when she gets flustered, _Shimako thought vaguely, thinking back to the way Noriko would start spewing any comforting words that came to her mind when the brunette seemed upset.

"Uh…"

"Please?" Shimako asked, smiling sweetly in a way that she knew Noriko couldn't resist. Sure enough, Noriko was only able to look at her for a few seconds before her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Okay," the black-haired girl said. "I just have to get changed." She stood up and walked around Shimako in a wide arc before slipping into the bathroom. The brunette stared after her, her head tilted slightly. On the one hand, Noriko could be acting like this because she wasn't comfortable with how affectionate Shimako had been acting recently. However, knowing her petite soeur, it was more likely that Noriko had gotten flustered from seeing her onee-sama in only a fluffy white towel. Shimako slowly sat down on the bed and stared at her hands.

There wasn't much that she was inexperienced at, but it seemed as though falling in love with her petite soeur was one of them. It had hit her over the head like a bucket of ice when she first realized what she was feeling wasn't just a loss of loneliness, and for the longest time, she had been terrified of the consequences. Even if Noriko didn't outright reject her, Shimako wouldn't pretend not to remember her onee-sama's heartbreak thanks to the girl named Kubo Shiori. The girl Sei let into her heart without a second thought. But after several months, Shimako was fairly certain that Noriko would never hurt her like that; if the younger girl didn't feel the same way, she knew that the rejection would be blunt and to the point. And it would hurt, but it would be better than falling even deeper in love only to have her heart crushed later on.

And now it seemed like her subtle hinting wasn't enough- now Shimako was feeling things that she had never experienced before, and the calm, level-headed Rosa Gigantea felt impatient for the first time in her life. If things kept going the way they were going, Noriko would be long gone, off to college or off with the love of her life before Shimako confessed her feelings. The thought didn't sit well at all with the brunette. She remembered the unfamiliar sting of jealousy that had surprised her so much when she learned of Noriko spending so much time with Aoi Minami, and how naturally the cold words had slipped through her lips. At the time, it had seemed like the most obvious thing in the world to kiss Noriko in her line of sight, if only to convey that simple message: 'mine'. It was an animalistic urge that made Shimako want to cringe at the fact that she'd let it control her.

These emotions were nothing like what Shimako was used to, and if this continued, she was sure she would begin to scare _herself _with their intensity. She needed Noriko to know how she felt.

But how?

**PGBR**

Touko sat with her nose just above the hot water of the hot springs, blowing angry bubbles in the water, her eyes narrowed as she glared in Sachiko's general direction.

They'd only gotten to the hot springs about ten minutes ago, and Touko had changed as quickly as possible. It wasn't as if she was overly self-conscious, but she was nowhere near as endowed as her cousin- she saw her body as almost childish with her small build. That and she wasn't sure she could watch Yumi change without incurring a massive nosebleed. Sachiko, of course, had arrived just as Yumi was getting undressed, and had taken her time changing, leaving a blushing Yumi to join Touko in the springs. Touko had shut her eyes until Yumi had slid fully into the water, and opened them only to find a fully nude Sachiko staring at her with one eyebrow raised, eyes dancing with a trace of superiority. Touko sunk lower into the water, fuming.

That didn't last long, however, as she was soon joined by a rather flustered Noriko, who all but vaulted herself into the water beside Touko, earning herself a disapproving glare from Sachiko, who was lounging beside a beet-red Yumi. Noriko glared right back, having never truly gotten over the way Rosa Chinesis sometimes talked to Shimako. "Some_times_, I swear…" Noriko muttered under her breath, and Touko nodded, agreeing completely.

Finally rising out of slump enough to speak, Touko turned playful eyes on Noriko. "So what had you in such a hurry to get in here?" she asked knowingly. "Or should I say who? I mean, I know I'm stunningly attractive, but really, you shouldn't be so obvious in your desire to be near me…"

Noriko growled, reaching over to dunk Touko, but the brunette danced out of her reach with a mischievous smile. "Or maybe you're running away from someone?" Touko asked slyly, just as Shimako emerged from the cabin. Noriko followed the brunette's gaze and immediately turned an unhealthy shade of fuchsia. Touko giggled.

"Shut up," Noriko growled. "It's not like you're any better. At least I didn't close my eyes like a five-year-old who saw her father naked or anything."

Touko huffed, a hint of red slowly appearing across her cheeks. "I never said I was any different, did I?" she asked haughtily. "The only difference is that onee-sama is halfway across the hot springs," here she paused, because some kind of creature inside of her was deeply opposed to the idea of Sachiko and Yumi together, especially in this state, "with Sachiko-sama, and Shimako-sama is on her way over here."

"What?" Noriko asked, her eyes wide as she whipped around only to find her onee-sama within a few feet of her. Turning back to her left, she watched as Touko flounced away towards Sachiko and Yumi, no doubt giving in to her more primal urge to keep the two as separate as possible. "Touko…I swear if Sachiko-sama doesn't kill you, I'll kill you myself," she muttered under her breath just as Shimako came to sit next to her, head tilted in confusion. And she was dripping wet.

And of course, instead of looking like any other girl without her make up on, Shimako was just as beautiful, if not more so, than before, her slightly-tanned skin practically radiant in the glow that the setting provided. Her hair clung to her every smooth, slight curve, falling just barely over her left eye, heavy with the water. Noriko's eyes traced up from her smooth collar bone to the delicate column of her neck, right up to-

Without warning, Noriko dove fully underwater, submerging herself and her somewhat quenching her less than holy thoughts. _Stupid adolescence. Don't know _why _we don't skip right over it. Not like anyone needs it anyway. It's just awkwardness incarnate mixed with confusion and-_

Suddenly, Noriko was dragged back up from her watery sanctuary, staring directly into the concerned eyes of her onee-sama. _Damn, don't tell me she noticed… _"Noriko?" Shimako asked, swimming forward so that she was only inches away from her rigid petite soeur, one hand pressed firmly to her forehead. "Noriko, what's going on?"

"Uh…sorry, onee-sama," Noriko stated meekly- she'd been saying that far too often recently. "I got cold."

**PGBR**

Touko thanked Maria-sama for what felt like the thousandth time for Sachiko's proper upbringing and her own parents' lack of concern for hers.

While seeing her onee-sama in nothing but the ribbons in her hair was nerve wracking and did a number on her hormones, she was nowhere near the blushing mass that Noriko had been reduced to, nor was she stiff and dead set on pretending there wasn't anything to look at, like Sachiko was. A classic mistake- if there's a pink elephant in the room, ignoring it is only going to make you look suspicious, while acknowledging it is only human nature.

"Enjoying the hot springs, onee-sa-ma?" Touko asked in a teasing voice, grinning mischievously as Yumi blushed furiously at the sight of her. She felt the brown eyes rest on her body before Yumi practically tore them away, and felt her entire being well up with pride. She was no Sachiko, but she was confident in her slender, well-toned figure. And with the way Sachiko was acting, they were on even ground in this round.

"H-hai, Touko-chan," Yumi said, her eyes not meeting Touko's, and her face betraying her every emotion as usual. Touko was enjoying the show until she noticed traces of guilt and confusion pass over her onee-sama's face- she didn't want Yumi to feel guilty about noticing her. And she didn't really want her to feel confused, but she supposed that would have to come anyway.

"Onee-sama," she said in a softer voice, floating closer to Yumi and grabbing her chin, forcing her to meet her eyes. "Relax." She grinned and floated backwards a few paces, hands tight behind her back. "It's what the hot springs are for, right?"

Yumi seemed to take a deep breath before turning to her petite soeur with a slightly embarrassed smile. "Hai," she said quietly.

Touko huffed. "Mou, sometimes it feels like I'm the onee-sama," she muttered under her breath, her lips curling into a secret smile when Yumi laughed. She swam up to sit beside her onee-sama, sitting just close enough so that their skin was brushing together, and just far enough away so that it seemed innocent.

It was perfect.

For all of five seconds, until-

"Cannonball!"

There was a huge splash as Sei leapt into the water with all the grace of a bull, and then there was silence until she resurfaced. "Sei-sama…" Sachiko growled, her teeth gritted together, fists working dangerously.

"Hehe, come now, Sacchan," Sei said, her tone belying her true nervousness. "All in good fun, right?" She began to back away slowly from the dangerously calm-sounding Rosa Chinesis.

Sachiko, who was already in a bad enough mood because of how easily Touko was interacting with Yumi, stood and began to stalk towards Sei, who started running as fast as she could in the water. This, of course, only served to annoy Sachiko more, who called to her onee-sama to control Sei. Youko only glanced her way with a secretive smile before continuing her conversation with Eriko.

Touko heard a sigh from beside her at the same time as a weight appeared on her shoulder. She glanced down to find Yumi watching the scene with a small smile. Touko's face flushed instantly, and her body became as stiff as Sachiko's had been only moments before. Safe in the knowledge that her onee-sama was distracted for the time being, she flung her head backwards in frustration, counting the stars to take her mind off of Yumi's very close, very bare body.

**PGBR**

Despite their worrying, both Touko and Noriko were asleep before they hit their mattresses.

**PGBR**

Noriko awoke to the soothing sensation of light, rhythmic breathing underneath her and murmured her content, cuddling closer to the source of comfort.

It took her approximately two minutes, with her delayed reaction time, to realize just what had happened, and her eyes shot open as she panicked. Lifting her head, she assessed the situation only to let out a sigh of relief and fall back against her onee-sama's chest. She had somehow worked her way into the center of the bed and wrapped her arms around Shimako like a teddy bear in the middle of the night. Generally this news would be disturbing, but she felt the unmistakable pressure of an arm wrapped firmly around her lower back. If Shimako was holding her as well, than neither of them could possibly be to blame for their situation, and Noriko was far too tired to do anything about it just yet.

"Noriko…"

This time, Noriko jerked into an upright position, holding a hand to her chest, her breathing heavy. "O-onee-sama," she said, her eyes wide, "I didn't think you were awake!"

Shimako smiled up at her sleepily. "I can see that," she said playfully, teasing her soeur as she did on rare occasions. Noriko blushed deeply.

"I'm sorry," she said, staring down at the covers off to her right, away from Shimako. "I guess I'm kind of…affectionate when I'm asleep. I mean, I should have known from the way I woke up on the train, right?" she continued, laughing nervously as she began to babble. It was a nervous habit that she'd always had and had mostly managed to stop, but on certain occasions she just couldn't stop herself. "When I was younger my aunt used to call me her cuddle monster because I'd always end up in her room, wrapped around her, no matter where she put me. I can never sleep without holding onto something; even at home, I use this pillow…"

"Noriko…" Shimako began, but the younger girl was too far off in her nervous ranting.

"And I used to have this big stuffed bear, only the neighbor's dog ripped him up, and I couldn't sleep for weeks until my aunt went out and bought me another one. I don't even know what happened to-"

Shimako reached out and held Noriko's face in her hands, looking directly into her eyes. "Noriko," she began, now that her petite soeur had stopped talking, "I don't mind. But…" Here she trailed off, leaving Noriko to wait for her to continue with bated breath. "I think it's time that you explained to me what is really going on."

"What is…" Noriko began, her brows furrowing. "I already told you, didn't I? I was talking to Minami-sama about it-"

Shimako sighed at the foul taste that name left in her mouth. "Yes," she said, "but you only said it was a problem, not what the problem was." She let go of Noriko's face and sat up straight, her back against the headboard as she gazed into her petite soeur's eyes imploringly.

Noriko sighed. "It's nothing you could help me with," she muttered, instantly backtracking when she saw the wounded look in Shimako's eyes. "N-not like that! I just meant that it's something that I need to figure out on my own…with her help…" she finished, realizing how lame that sounded.

Shimako frowned slightly at that. "Oh," she said slowly. "Okay, then. I don't want to pressure you, but if you ever need me…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. She didn't like how close Minami seemed with Noriko, but she couldn't risk exposing her own feelings just based on a hunch that Noriko might return them.

"Don't worry, onee-sama," Noriko said, and Shimako fought back a stab of hurt aimed right at her heart- that smile was by far the fakest thing she'd ever seen on Noriko's face. "I'm fine." She could tell that Shimako was hurt by her words, and Noriko paused for a moment before leaning forward and kissing her onee-sama's cheek in the way Shimako had become accustomed to kissing her. She lingered there for a moment too long, reveling in the softness of her onee-sama's warm, soft skin. "I promise."

**PGBR**

Touko awoke in a similar position to the one Noriko had, however the roles appeared to be reversed. Touko could feel the warmth of her onee-sama's head resting against her chest, her arms resting lightly on the drill-haired girl's stomach, their legs intertwined. She found herself blushing- she'd worn a loose tank top and a pair of sleep shorts to be as always, because she didn't see the point in being ladylike while she slept, and it appeared that the shirt had slipped up during the night, meaning that Yumi's bare arms were resting peacefully against Touko's bare stomach.

After the first few awkward moments when Touko was sure Yumi was about to wake up, she allowed herself to slowly relax. She could only imagine what would have happened if Youko hadn't asked to share a room with Sachiko. It had disturbed her at first- there was no reason that Youko would have proposed such an arrangement if she didn't know of the semi-love triange surrounding Yumi. So there was another person who knew of her feelings, but this person obviously knew of Sachiko's as well, and it did ease her thoughts, if only by a little bit.

Deciding that she was going to make the best of the situation and try her hardest to win Yumi over, Touko wrapped a possessive arm around Yumi, pulling her closer. Yumi shifted in her sleep to tighten her hold on the younger girl, and Touko reveled in the feeling it gave her. Nestling back into the pillows, Touko's hand began to move in a lazy pattern over Yumi's side as she stared up at the ceiling.

The way this made her feel- there was no doubt about it now. She couldn't let Sachiko win Yumi- she couldn't let her go without a fight. There was nothing Touko had ever wanted as much as she wanted Yumi, and she wasn't Sachiko's cousin for nothing. So let Sachiko glare; Touko wasn't going to let her cousin stand in the way of the feelings she felt when she was holding Yumi in her arms.

**I wonder why it is that I can read/write slash and femslash (yaoi/yuri, whatever), and I'm attracted to both guys and girls, but I can't read or write het? The closest I've gotten to liking a het pairing is Snape/Lily for obvious reasons. Hmm. Maybe I'm just a sucker for out of the ordinary things.**


	9. Eight: Satou Sei is in the HOUSE

**First off, I'm so terribly sorry for the long delay! I've been so busy being nervous about college (and recently depressed, because it's just as hard for me to make friends there as it usually is, especially with trying to keep up with a socialite roommate who thinks spending a night in the dorm is anti-social) that I've just let it fall to the backburner, but hopefully you'll all continue to read this fic!**

**PLEASE READ THIS SECTION AS IT INFLUENCES THE STORY!**

**I plan to use Eriko to my advantage! (Mainly because I want everyone to have a happy ending, and I think Eriko would make a lovely lesbian if it weren't for Dinosaur-Man) And I think she's a bit like Chikaru from Strawberry Panic!- she could really fit with anyone if the pairing was written correctly. So here's the deal- I'm honestly having problems deciding who Yumi should end up with. Yumi/Touko is adorable and all, but Yumi is so utterly devoted to Sachiko that it could very easily go that way. I want to put it to a vote- who should Yumi end up with?**

**Watashi No Meru: Thank you =) And I agree that Sachiko's way of thinking is very simple- it's just that my way of thinking is so opposite (prefers to think things through to the point that it could be considered dangerous) and it's always harder to write characters who are so different. However, I'll be writing more of Sachiko's POV in the future =)**

**Hyoyeong: Thanks! I love Shimako/Noriko too =) Really the only angst in their relationship would EVER be misunderstandings. But obviously there must be some of those- the show must go on! And as I mentioned in the author's note, I don't plan to hurt anyone- I just don't know who Yumi should end up with. I actually believe that Sachiko could go either way depending on her mood- I think initially she would fight Yumi's decision and not be willing to give up, but eventually the reality would hit her.**

**tears of the soul: Thanks =) That was actually the chapter I didn't like as much- I don't think I wrote it very well, being rushed and all =P**

**Bumble Monkey: Well, Youko and Sei I've got together as kind of a given, whereas Eriko will be useful to me later on…and I can't help it- I know I'm putting in too much Shimako/Noriko, but I just adore them =) **

**Greenerin: Well, I'm not sure who to put together just yet, so make sure to give me your opinion =) And thanks =) **

****

**Every Fallen Star, Another Hopeful Heart**

**Chapter Eight: Satou Sei is in the HOUSE**

_**xXLiStLesSXx**_

****

In the dining room, they were greeted with the unsettling sight of Eriko sipping her tea calmly while Sei nursed a huge lump on her head, occasionally whining things like, "stupid Dekochin" and "only trying to help".

Youko went to comfort Sei while everyone else sat down around the table. Touko swiftly maneuvered herself into the seat beside Yumi only seconds before Sachiko sat down, causing the older girl's lip to curl in anger. But like the lady she was, Sachiko sat down across from Yumi instead, in a perfect position to send a warning glare to Touko, who responded with a cheeky smirk.

Noriko took in the scene and rolled her eyes, far too tired to be amused by the situation- the fact that she'd woken in her onee-sama's arms hadn't really registered by this point. She took a seat well away from the Chinesis-drama, as Sei had fondly titled it the day before, much to the chagrin of the Red Rose cousins. Several minutes later, her nose picked up a distinct smell of vanilla, and she turned her head only to find a smiling Shimako slipping into the seat beside her. The brunette reached over and intertwined their fingers as if it were an everyday occurrence, and Noriko flushed beat red, catching the attention of the now-cured Satou Sei, who smirked like a hungry lion.

Her devious mind was instantly thrust into full-gear- she'd never seen Shimako look at another person that way, not until Noriko came along. And the subtle contact she'd keep with the dark-haired girl whenever they were in the same room was the farthest thing from subtle she'd ever witnessed. Sei smirked- who would've guessed that her calm and collected petite soeur would change so drastically when in love?

As far as Sei could tell, getting them together would be easy enough, given Shimako's obvious acceptance of her feelings and Noriko's enjoyment of her affection. Really, she could take this any number of ways, but one in particular appealed to the mischievous blonde the most. It had always entertained her without fail to watch Sachiko get redder and redder until she finally lashed out, unable to hold back her temper when Sei threw herself at Yumi. Judging by recent observation, Touko was very much the same in that category, which meant that messing with the two of them would be no fun at all.

These two, however…her own sisters…she surveyed them for a moment, ignoring Youko's skeptical gaze. Noriko's reaction would be too predictable- the girl was too straightforward for her to do much else other than sit there and stew in her seat, unhappily accepting the fact that Sei was Shimako's onee-sama, and therefore had the right to treat her as such. But Shimako…Sei's gaze flitted to her own petite soeur, who was currently massaging the back of a very red Noriko's hand with her thumb. It was obvious that she accepted her feelings for Noriko, and from something Yoshino had let slip earlier, it seemed as if she were willing to protect that bond.

Apparently, the issue of Aoi Minami had been solved quickly enough with enough attention on Noriko's part, but then again, Aoi Minami had nothing on Satou Sei. Nobody did.

Sei smirked. This trip was going to prove to be very entertaining indeed, she decided, her eyes flickering to Eriko, whose gaze seemed to have floated over to the Chinesis family involuntarily.

**PGBR**

Touko sat beside Yumi, poking at her already mutilated eggs with a fork, her appetite having escaped her for the moment. She was deep in thought- too much so for this early in the morning, and didn't even notice when her hand unconsciously reached for Yumi's when Sachiko gave her a challenging glare.

How long could this go on? In Touko's eyes (and those of the remainder of the Yamayurikai, she was sure) this entire battle was only postponing the inevitable. How could anyone- how could _she _ever mean even _half_ as much to Yumi as Sachiko did? She wasn't blind, nor was she stupid, and she knew she'd told herself she wouldn't give up, but still…

Feeling the weight of someone's gaze resting on her, Touko glanced up to find Yumi watching her with a concerned smile. Instantly her body went into protective mode and she grinned back as widely as she could, attempting to quell Yumi's concerns. The older girl brightened and squeezed her hand before going back to her breakfast.

Touko's smile dimmed slightly and she turned her gaze, entirely by accident, onto a very interesting (and slightly worrisome) sight. Sei was watching Shimako and Noriko intently, her gaze focused mainly on the black-haired girl who was still a bright crimson from the contact with her onee-sama.

_Noriko better watch out, _she thought with a small frown. She'd heard stories of the previous Rosa Gigantea from Sachiko- or, rather, heated monologues on how she needed to keep her hands off of _her _Yumi-chan, or so help her…etc. Touko watched in amusement as Noriko gave a little start, her eyes wide and riveted to the smirking blonde across the table. Shimako frowned slightly, confused, and Touko thought she saw the hand on Noriko's tightening just a little bit.

_Or maybe 'Shimako-sama better watch out' would be more accurate…_

_**PGBR**_

Sachiko's lips were pursed, her eyes narrowed in obvious disapproval of Sei's 'grand idea'. She didn't see the point in travelling up to her cabin only to abandon it for the sake of the small city several miles away, especially for something they could do all the time back at home. But Sei had been very adamant in wanting to go see a movie, despite the fact that the small cinema was about five years behind in its titles, claiming that there was nothing to do back at the cabin. Sachiko frowned. There was plenty to do.

She felt a weight on her arm and instantly melted beneath the innocent smile that her petite soeur wore, removing her arm only to wrap it around Yumi's shoulder. Normally she would have gone for her waist, but she'd caught Touko watching them out of the corner of her eye and decided to go for the kill. Yumi seemed shocked at the sudden display of affection, but didn't comment on it, and Sachiko was glad, because there wasn't much she could do to explain herself. It was her nature to hold tightly to the things she cared for the most, just as it was Touko's, and her instinct told her that the curly-haired brunette was a threat.

Yumi snuggled into her, and she led them up to the window, allowing Sei to choose the movie and simply handing over the money for her ticket as well as Yumi's. However, the teenage girl at the counter (who seemed to have perked up from her original bored state since they had arrived) returned half of the money. "Sorry, but she's already been paid for by that cutie over there," the redhead stated, her expression revealing that she wasn't that sorry at all. A real live love triangle, right before her eyes- it beat sitting around at a ticket counter all day, for sure. She gestured to Touko, who was now smirking in Sachiko's direction.

Sachiko gritted her teeth and fought the urge to growl 'mine' at her cousin, instead pulling Yumi closer, successfully wiping the smirk from Touko's face, leaving her looking dejected and almost lost.

**PGBR**

Inside the theater, Sei began to put her plan in action, unbeknownst to the two girls who seemed to be lost in their own little world. She had purchased the tickets for all three of them despite their protests- she'd almost felt a little guilty when Shimako's face fell. Her petite soeur was obviously trying to step up to the plate for Noriko's affections. But if she left it to Shimako, things would happen at a snail's pace or not happen at all. The small theater had assigned seating- it was easy enough for her to switch their tickets around so that she was right in the middle of the two of them. That done, she handed them their tickets and set off to claim her seat while Noriko argued with a very stubborn Shimako over snack payment.

"They're so cute, they could almost give one a cavity," Eriko noted from between the silently sparring Chinesises, her hand pressed protectively against her cheek, a far off look in her eyes. "Itai…"

"Ah, worry not, Dekochin!" Sei exclaimed loudly, slapping a hand down on Eriko's back with a force that knocked the smaller girl forward several feet. Eriko quietly brushed her hair back, regaining her composure flawlessly. "Satou Sei is in the house!"

"Maria-sama have mercy," Youko muttered, apparently immune to Sei's puppy eyes.

**PGBR**

To Sei's right, a visibly disappointed Shimako attempted to act unaffected while Noriko sat there looking confused.

"Ano…Sei-sama…"

"Shh!" Sei whispered, placing a hand over Noriko's mouth. "Not another word," she continued, poking the black-haired girl's nose affectionately. Curious, Shimako turned at just the same moment, and her brows furrowed slightly before she forced herself to look away. This was her onee-sama, after all, not Minami. Sei wouldn't…

Yes, she would.

With this realization, Shimako tensed in her seat and tried her hardest not to think about the goings-on in the seats right next to her, and the people who were involved. How much could Sei do with her sitting right there, after all?

Just then, the movie title appeared on the screen:

_The Hills Have Eyes._

Shimako's knuckles turned white around the plastic edges of the chair. Then again, she could be wrong…

She wondered how Sei had found out- Noriko had only recently told her that she was terrified of horror movies. In a surprising switch of roles, Shimako was actually fairly immune to the particular genre, and had kept the idea that she just _knew _was running through Sei's mind in the back of her head. Shimako didn't know _why _it was running through her head, but it was, and now she was going to be stuck watching her petite soeur cling to her onee-sama.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Only a third of the way through the movie, Noriko was shaking in her seat, and Sei easily slipped a protective arm around her shoulders. Several brutal murders later, the black-haired girl was practically in the blonde's lap, and apparently Shimako had been glaring more obviously than she had intended, because Sei turned to her and asked if she'd rather her petite soeur suffer alone.

This question brought out a side of Shimako that was hidden very deeply inside of the normally calm and collected girl. "Of course not," she whispered back with a slight edge to her voice, reminiscent of a certain icy-eyed heiress. "But maybe I'd prefer to be the one comforting my petite soeur," Shimako continued, unable to fight back a slight blush despite her mood.

Sei grinned knowingly, ruffling Shimako's hair with her free hand. "It's called taking initiative, Shimako-chaaan," she cooed. "You must be proactive in order to win the heart of a lady."

Shimako swallowed back her suddenly demanding pride and sat back in her seat, arms folded loosely over her chest as she attempted to ignore what was happening only feet away from her. She knew Sei had guessed her feelings- knew the blonde was doing this to get her to admit the way she cared for Noriko. So it shouldn't be hard at all to sit back and not lay some kind of claim on her petite soeur.

Only it kind of was, and when Noriko buried her face in Sei's shoulder and Sei tightened her arm around her, all she wanted to do was rip her petite soeur away from her onee-sama and growl 'mine', because she knew things about Satou Sei that Noriko didn't.

The emotion was completely unfamiliar for Shimako, and she felt sick to her stomach. Glancing down the aisle a little ways, her eyes fell upon the Chinesis sisters, and she realized that this must be how Sachiko felt almost daily.

**PGBR**

Touko was currently torn between blessing every single god in existence, regardless of her faith, and laughing hysterically at Noriko, who was too terrified to realize that her two 'sisters' were having some kind of twisted tug-of-war over her. She chose the latter, considering how Yumi appeared to be trembling in her seat beside her, though Noriko being afraid of horror movies was funny for a different reason entirely.

Looking off to Yumi's left, Touko could hardly believe her luck- Sachiko was still doped up on sleeping pills from the ride there. They hadn't taken effect by the time they got to the theater (hence an irritable heiress) and apparently Sachiko was feeling the full force of them now. Touko felt a little bit as though she were fighting dirty, but technically Sachiko had such a head start on her that it didn't really count.

"Are you okay, onee-sama?" Touko asked, resting her hand on top of Yumi's, which was tight in her lap. Yumi spared a glance to Touko and managed to pull off what must have been the most terrible fake smile she'd ever seen. With a reassuring smile, Touko lifted the bar separating them and scooted closer, taking a leap and wrapping her arm tightly around Yumi's waist. At first, Yumi looked as if she wanted to resist, but with another smile from Touko, she gave in and huddled against the younger girl.

**PGBR**

From a few seats away, Eriko watched the scenes play out with an unreadable look in her eyes.

She knew that she had been naïve to believe that she ever had a chance with the man she used to love. His answer, his excuse- he only wanted her to stop pursuing him so that he could go on with his life.

For what must have been the millionth time that day, her eyes shifted involuntarily to the Chinesis sisters.

She never _had _been fond of his beard, and the Chinesis family sure knew how to breed them…

**PGBR**

As soon as the group met outside of the dark theater, Shimako slipped over to her still-trembling (and red-faced) petite soeur, wrapping an arm a little too tightly around her waist, her eyes boring into those of her smirking onee-sama. Noriko, still oblivious to the silent battle, rested her head against Shimako's shoulder, making it easier for Shimako to lay her silent claim.

Sachiko was still a bit wobbly, but was now awake enough to glare at Touko, whose fingers were tangled with Yumi's.

Yoshino was discussing the movie animatedly with a rather sick-looking Rei, complete with sound effects and dramatic gestures.

Sei looked extremely pleased with herself despite the fact that her petite soeur was now glaring at her as if she were the devil's spawn, and Youko had a headache from watching it all.

She caught Eriko staring at the Chinesis sisters almost as if she were in deep thought, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back. She sighed in defeat, massaging her temples with one hand.

_Well, that's the end of what could have potentially been a peaceful vacation._

**So, Eriko with another girl, yes? I've been wanting to try that particular idea for quite a while…I guess that might influence your votes too =P Who you think would go better with her, that is.**


End file.
